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diff --git a/42180-0.txt b/42180-0.txt index 47d1ba2..5b8a6de 100644 --- a/42180-0.txt +++ b/42180-0.txt @@ -1,38 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Parish Priests and Their People in the -Middle Ages in England, by Edward L. Cutts - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Parish Priests and Their People in the Middle Ages in England - -Author: Edward L. Cutts - -Release Date: February 23, 2013 [EBook #42180] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARISH PRIESTS IN MIDDLE AGES *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive.) - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42180 *** PARISH PRIESTS AND THEIR PEOPLE. @@ -17569,360 +17535,4 @@ Hasted’s “Kent,” iii. 173. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Parish Priests and Their People in the Middle Ages in England, by Edward L. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Parish Priests and Their People in the Middle Ages in England - -Author: Edward L. Cutts - -Release Date: February 23, 2013 [EBook #42180] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARISH PRIESTS IN MIDDLE AGES *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive.) - - - - - - - - - -PARISH PRIESTS AND THEIR PEOPLE. - - - - -[Illustration: FROM THE XV. CENT. MS., EGERTON 2019, f. 142.] - - - - - PARISH PRIESTS AND THEIR PEOPLE - IN THE MIDDLE AGES IN ENGLAND. - - - BY THE REV. EDWARD L. CUTTS, D.D., - AUTHOR OF "TURNING POINTS OF ENGLISH CHURCH HISTORY," - "A DICTIONARY OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND," - "A HANDY BOOK OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND," ETC. - - - PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OE THE TRACT COMMITTEE. - - - LONDON: - SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. - NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C. - 43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C. - BRIGHTON: 129, NORTH STREET. - NEW YORK: E & J. B. YOUNG AND CO. - 1898. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -A great mass of material has of late years been brought within reach of -the student, bearing upon the history of the religious life and customs of -the English people during the period from their conversion, in the sixth -and seventh centuries, down to the Reformation of the Church of England in -the sixteenth century; but this material is still to be found only in -great libraries, and is therefore hardly within reach of the general -reader. - -The following chapters contain the results of some study of the subject -among the treasures of the library of the British Museum; much of those -results, it is believed, will be new, and all, it is hoped, useful, to the -large number of general readers who happily, in these days, take an -intelligent interest in English Church history. - -The book might have been made shorter and lighter by giving fewer extracts -from the original documents; but much of the history is new, and it -seemed desirable to support it by sufficient evidence. The extracts have -been, as far as possible, so chosen that each shall give some additional -incidental touch to the filling up of the general picture. - -The photographic reproductions of illuminations from MSS. of various -dates, illustrating ecclesiastical ceremonies and clerical costumes, are -enough in themselves to give a certain value to the book which contains -and describes them. - -The writer is bound to make grateful acknowledgment of his obligations to -the Bishop of Oxford, who, amidst his incessant occupations, was so kind -to an old friend as to read through the rough proof of the book, pointing -out some _corrigenda_, making some suggestions, and indicating some -additional sources of information; all which, while it leaves the book the -better for what the bishop has done for it, does not make him responsible -for its remaining imperfections. - -The writer has also to express his thanks to the Rev. Professor Skeat, -Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge, and to the Rev. Dr. Cunningham, -formerly Professor of Economic Science, K.C.L., for their kind replies to -inquiries on matters on which they are authorities; and to some others who -kindly looked over portions of the book dealing with matters of which they -have special knowledge. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER I. OUR HEATHEN FOREFATHERS. - - The land only partially reclaimed, 1--The Anglo-Saxon conquest, - 2--Civil constitution, 4--Religion, 7--Structural temples, 8--Priests, - 11. - -CHAPTER II. THE CONVERSION OF THE ENGLISH. - - Conversion of the heptarchic kingdoms, 14--Its method, - 16--Illustrations from the history of Jutland, Norway, etc., 17--The - cathedral centres, 20--Details of mission work, 21--Mission stations, - 24. - -CHAPTER III. THE MONASTIC PHASE OF THE CHURCH. - - Multiplication of monasteries, 28: in Kent, 29; Northumbria, 29; East - Anglia, 31; Wessex, 31; Mercia, 31--List of other Saxon monasteries, - 33--Constitution of the religious houses, 35--Their destruction by the - Danes, 37--Rebuilding in the reigns of Edgar and Canute, 37. - -CHAPTER IV. DIOCESAN AND PAROCHIAL ORGANIZATION. - - Character of the new converts, 38--Coming of Archbishop Theodore, - 40--Union of the Heptarchic Churches, 41--Subdivision of dioceses, - 41--Introduction of the parochial system, 43--Northumbria made a - second province, 49--Multiplication of parishes, 50--Different classes - of churches, 53--Number of parishes at the Norman Conquest, 54. - -CHAPTER V. THE SAXON CLERGY. - - Laws of the heptarchic kingdoms: of Ethelbert, 57; of Ine, 57; of - Wihtred, 57--Council of Clovesho (747), 60--Laws of Alfred, 65; of - Athelstan, 66--Canons of Edgar, 66--Laws of Ethelred, 72--Canons of - Elfric, 74--Privilege of sanctuary, 75--Tithe and other payments, - 78--Observance of Sunday and holy days, 79--Slavery, 81--Manumission, - 81. - -CHAPTER VI. THE NORMAN CONQUEST. - - Foreign bishops and abbots introduced, 84--Parochial clergy - undisturbed, 85--Papal supremacy, 85--Separation of civil and - ecclesiastical Courts, 86--Norman cathedrals and churches, 87--Revival - of monasticism, 90--Appropriation of parochial benefices, 91. - -CHAPTER VII. THE FOUNDATION OF VICARAGES. - - Mode of appropriation of parishes, 95--Evil results, 97--Ordination of - vicarages, 98--Its conditions, 99--Not always fulfilled, 108--Abuses, - 109. - -CHAPTER VIII. PAROCHIAL CHAPELS. - - Chapels-of-ease for hamlets, 110--Some of them elevated into churches, - 110--Rights of mother churches safeguarded, 121--Free chapels, 123. - -CHAPTER IX. THE PARISH PRIEST--HIS BIRTH AND EDUCATION. - - Saxon clergy largely taken from the higher classes, 127--The career - opened up by the Church to all classes, 129; even to serfs, - 130--Education of the clergy, 131--The Universities, 136--Schools of - thought, 136--The scholastic theology, 137--The contemplative, - 138--Oxford: its colleges, 140--The students, 141--Ordination, - 144--Institution, 146. - -CHAPTER X. PARSONAGE HOUSES. - - Like lay houses, 149--Examples at West Dean and Alfriston, Sussex, - 152--Descriptions of: at Kelvedon, 154; Kingston-on-Thames, Bulmer, - Ingrave, 155; Ingatestone, 156; Little Bromley, North Benfleet, 157; - West Hanningfield, 158--Hospitality, 158--Smaller houses, - 160--Dilapidations, 162. - -CHAPTER XI. FURNITURE AND DRESS. - - Sumptuary laws, 164--Disregard of them, 167--Contemporary pictures, - 169--Extracts from wills, 172--Introduction of sober colours, - 174--Wills, 175. - -CHAPTER XII. FABRIC AND FURNITURE OF CHURCHES, AND OFFICIAL VESTMENTS. - - Grandeur of the churches compared with domestic buildings, - 184--Furniture of churches, 187, 190--List of necessary things, - 189--Clerical vestments: pallium, chasuble, 191; stole, maniple, - amice, dalmatic, 192; cope, surplice, 193; amyss, 194--Fanciful - symbolism, 196; a bishop in "full canonicals," 198. - -CHAPTER XIII. THE PUBLIC SERVICES IN CHURCH. - - Matins, mass, and evensong, 200--Sunday attendance, 201--Communion, - 200--Laxity of practice, 204--Week-day services, 205--The Bidding - Prayer, 207--Bede Roll, 211--Chantry services, 212. - -CHAPTER XIV. PREACHING AND TEACHING. - - Not neglected, 214--Manuals of teaching, 214; Archbishop Peckham's, - 216--Helps for preachers, 223--Analysis of sin, 226; _Arbor Virtutum_, - 229; _Arbor Viciorum_, 230--Types and antitypes, 231. - -CHAPTER XV. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARISH PRIESTS. - - Analysis of a book of that title by John Myrk, 232--The personal - character and conduct which befit a priest, 233--A parish priest's - duties, 234--Non-communicating attendance at Holy Communion, 235, - _note_--The "holy loaf," 235--Behaviour of the people in church, - 236--The people's way of joining in the mass, 236--Behaviour in - churchyard, 238--Visitation of the sick, 239. - -CHAPTER XVI. POPULAR RELIGION. - - Education more common than is supposed, 241--Books for the laity in - French and English, 242--Creed and Vision of "Piers Plowman," the - tracts of Richard of Hampole and Wiclif, 242--"Lay Folks' Mass-book," - 243--Primers, 249--Religious poetry: Cdmon, 250; "The Love of Christ - for Man's Soul," 255; "The Complaint of Christ," 256. - -CHAPTER XVII. THE CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY. - - Object of the obligation, 258--Opposition to it, 259--Introduced late - in the Saxon period, 260--Endeavour to enforce it in Norman and later - times, 261--Evasion of the canons, 268--Legal complications, - 270--Popular view, 271--Disabilities of sons of the clergy, - 273--Dispensations for it, 275. - -CHAPTER XVIII. VISITATION ARTICLES AND RETURNS. - - Visitation of parishes, 279--Visitation questions, 280--Examples from - returns to the questions, 285--Popular estimation of the clergy, 289. - -CHAPTER XIX. PROVISION FOR OLD AGE. - - Assistant chaplain, 290--Coadjutor assigned, 291--A leprous vicar, - 294--Retirement on a pension, 295--A retiring vicar builds for himself - a "reclusorium" in the churchyard, 295--Parish chaplain retires on a - pension, 296--Death and burial, 296. - -CHAPTER XX. THE PARISH CLERK. - - Ancient office, 298--Its duties, 299--Stipend, 301--Sometimes students - for orders, 302--Gilds of parish clerks, 303--Chaucer's parish clerk, - 304. - -CHAPTER XXI. CUSTOMS. - - Sanctuary for persons, 306; and property, 307--Belonged to some - persons, 308--Pilgrimage, 308--Special ceremonies, 311--Lights, - 311--Miracles and passion plays, 315--Fairs, markets, and sports in - the churchyard, 316--Church ales, 317. - -CHAPTER XXII. ABUSES. - - Papal invasions of the rights of patronage, 319--The intrusion of - foreigners into benefices, 320--Abuse of patronage by the Crown, - 321--Pluralities, 323--Farming of benefices, 324--Holding of benefices - by men in minor orders, 324--Absenteeism, 330--Serfdom, 332. - -CHAPTER XXIII. THE CATHEDRAL. - - Served by secular canons, 334--Organization of its clerical staff, - 334--The dignitaries, 335--The dean and chapter, 335--Monastic - cathedral, 336--Archdeacons, 337--Synods and visitations, 337--Lincoln - Cathedral, 338--Bishop's palace, 339--The close, 340--Residentiary - houses, 341--Vicars' court, 341--Chantries, 342--Chapter house, - 342--Common room, 344--The first dean and canons, 343--Revenues of - the bishop, 344; of the dean and dignitaries, 345; of the - prebendaries, 350; of the archdeacons, 353; of the vicars choral, 354; - of the chantry priests, 355; of the choristers, 356--Lay officers, - 356--Chichester Cathedral, 359--Revenues of bishop, dean, dignitaries, - prebendaries, archdeacons, and vicars choral, 360-362--Prince bishops, - 363. - -CHAPTER XXIV. MONKS AND FRIARS. - - Character of the monks, 365--Place of the monasteries in social life, - 366--Influence upon the parishes, 369--Friars, their origin; - organization, 370--Work, 373--Rivalry with parish clergy, - 374--Character, 377--Faults of the system, 378. - -CHAPTER XXV. THE "TAXATIO" OF POPE NICHOLAS IV. - - Origin of firstfruits and tenths, 380--Taxation of a specimen deanery, - 381--Number of parishes, 384--Value of parochial benefices, - 386--Number of clergy, 389. - -CHAPTER XXVI. THE "VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS" OF HENRY VIII. - - Number of parishes, 394--Income, 395--Sources of income, - 397--Comparative value of money in 1292, 1534, and 1890, - 404--Economical status of parochial clergy, 406. - -CHAPTER XXVII. DOMESTIC CHAPELS. - - Early existence, 408--Saxon, 409--Norman, 409--Edwardian, 410--Later, - 411. - -CHAPTER XXVIII. THE CHANTRY. - - Characteristic work of the centuries, 438--Definition of a chantry, - 438--"Brotherhood" of the religious houses, 439--A chantry a kind of - monument, 441--Began in thirteenth century, 442--Their distribution - over the country, 443--Foundation deed of Daundy's chantry, - 444--Chantry of the Black Prince, 446--Burghersh chantry, 447--Chantry - of Richard III., 447; of Henry VII., 447--Parochial benefices - appropriated to chantries, 449--Nomination to, 451--Chantry chapels - within the church, 453; at Winchester, 453; Tewkesbury, 454--Additions - to the fabric of the church, 454--Separate building in the churchyard, - 455--Temporary chantries for a term of years, 457--Mortuary services, - 458--Remuneration of chantry priests, 461--Number of cantarists, - 464--Their character, 465--Hour of their services, 466--Some chantries - were chapels-of-ease, 467--Some were grammar schools, 469. - -CHAPTER XXIX. GILDS. - - Definition, 473--Trade gilds, 475--Religious gilds, 476--For the - augmentation of Divine service, 478--For the maintenance of bridges, - roads, chantries, 478--Services, 479--Social gilds, 482--Methods of - obtaining better services and pastoral care, 483. - -CHAPTER XXX. THE MEDIVAL TOWNS. - - Description of, 486--Parochial history of the towns, 489--Peculiar - jurisdictions, the origin of town parishes, 490--Norwich, 490--London, - 492--Exeter, 497--Bristol, 499--York, 503--Ipswich, 506--Burton, - 508--St. Edmund's Bury, 510--St. Albans, 513--Manchester, - 514--Rotherham, 516--Sheffield, 519--Newark, 523--Recluses, - 526--Bridge-chapels, 527--London Bridge, 529. - -CHAPTER XXXI. DISCIPLINE. - - Definition, 531--Exercise of, in Saxon times, 532--Norman and - subsequent times, 533--Examples of, among the clergy, 533, 537--Laity, - 535--Resistance to, pictorial illustrations, 543--General sentences of - excommunication, 544. - -CHAPTER XXXII. RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. - - Schools of thought: progressive, 546; and conservative, 547--Religious - character of the centuries: twelfth, 547; thirteenth, 548; fourteenth, - 549; Chaucer's "Poore parson;" fifteenth, 552. - -APPENDIX I. - - The history of the parish of Whalley, 557. - -APPENDIX II. - - Comparative view of the returns of the "Taxatio," the "Valor," and the - modern "Clergy List" in the two rural deaneries of Barstaple, Essex, - 562; and Brigg, Canterbury, 564. - -APPENDIX III. - - References to pictorial illustrations in MSS. in the British Museum, - 567. - - - - -DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. - - - BURIAL OF THE DEAD _Frontispiece_ - - The illustration taken from a French MS. of the middle of the - fifteenth century [Egerton 2019, f. 142, British Museum] will reward a - careful study. Begin with the two pictures introduced into the broad - ornamental border at the bottom of the page. On the left are a pope, - an emperor, a king, and queen; on the right Death, on a black horse, - hurling his dart at them. - - Go on to the initial D of the Psalm _Dilexi quoniam exaudiet Dominus - vocem_: "I am well pleased that the Lord hath heard the voice of my - complaint." It represents a canon in surplice and canon's fur hood, - giving absolution to a penitent who has been confessing to him (note - the pattern of the hanging at the back of the canon's seat). Next - consider the picture in the middle of the border on the right. It - represents the priest in surplice and stole, with his clerk in albe - kneeling behind him and making the responses, administering the last - Sacrament to the dying person lying on the bed. Next turn to the - picture in the left-hand top corner of a woman in mourning, with an - apron tied about her, arranging the grave-clothes about the corpse, - and about to envelope it in its shroud. In the opposite corner, three - clerks in surplice and cope stand at a lectern singing the Psalms for - the departed; the pall which covers the coffin may be indistinctly - made out, and the great candlesticks with lighted candles on each side - of it. All these scenes lead us up to the principal subject, which is - the burial. The scene is a graveyard (note the grave crosses) - surrounded by a cloister, entered by a gate tower; the gables, - chimneys, and towers of a town are seen over the cloister roof; note - the skulls over the cloister arches, as though the space between the - groining and the timber roof were used as a charnel house. The priest - is asperging the corpse with holy water as the rude sextons lower the - body into the grave. Note that it is not enclosed in a coffin--that - was not used until comparatively recent times. He is assisted by two - other priests, all three vested in surplices and black copes with a - red-and-gold border; the clerk holds the holy-water vessel. Three - mourners in black cloak and hood stand behind. The story is not yet - finished. Above is seen our Lord in an opening through a radiant cloud - which sheds its beams of light over the scene; the departed soul - [de--parted = separated from the body] is mounting towards its Lord - with an attitude and look of rapture; Michael the Archangel is driving - back with the spear of the cross the evil angel disappointed of his - prey. Lastly, study the beautiful border. Is it fanciful to think that - the artist intended the vase of flowers standing upon the green earth - as a symbol of resurrection, and the exquisite scrolls and twining - foliage and many-coloured blossoms which surround the sad scenes of - death, to symbolize the beauty and glory which surround those whom - angels shall wait upon in death, and carry them to Paradise? - - _To face page_ - - ORDINATION OF A PRIEST, LATE 12TH CENTURY 94 - - Gives the Eucharistic vestments of bishop and priest, a priest in cope - and others in albes, the altar and its coverings, and two forms of - chalice. - - ORDINATION OF A DEACON, A.D. 1520 146 - - Gives the vestments of that period. The man in the group behind the - bishop, who is in surplice and hood and "biretta," is probably the - archdeacon. Note the one candle on the altar, the bishop's chair, the - piscina with its cruet, and the triptych. - - (1) AN ARCHDEACON LECTURING A GROUP OF CLERGYMEN ON THEIR SECULAR - HABITS AND WEAPONS, 14TH CENTURY 174 - - He is habited in a red tunic and cap, the clergy in blue tunic and red - hose and red tunic and blue hose. - - (2) AN ARCHDEACON'S VISITATION 174 - - A CLERICAL PROCESSION 190 - - The illustration is taken from a French Pontifical of the 14th century - in the British Museum [Tiberius, B. viii.], and represents part of the - ceremonial of the anointing and crowning of a king of France. We - choose it because it gives in one view several varieties of clerical - costume. There was very little difference between French and English - vestments, _e.g._ the only French characteristic here is that the - bishop's cope is embroidered with fleur-de-lys. On the left of the - picture is the king, and behind him officers of state and courtiers. - An ecclesiastical procession has met him at the door of the Cathedral - of Rheims, and the archbishop, in albe, cope, and mitre, is sprinkling - him with holy water; the clerk bearing the holy-water pot, and the - cross-bearer, and the thurifer swinging his censer, are immediately - behind him. Then come a group of canons. One is clearly shown, and - easily recognized by the peculiar horned hood with its fringe of - "clocks." Lastly are a group of bishops, the most conspicuous bearing - in his hands the ampulla, which contains the holy oil for the - anointing. - - The photograph fails here as in other cases to give the colours which - define the costumes clearly and give brilliancy to the picture. The - king's tunic is crimson, and that of the nobleman behind him blue. The - archbishop has a cope of blue _seme_ with gold fleur-de-lys; the - water-bearer, a surplice so transparent that the red tunic beneath - gives it a pink tinge; the cross-bearer, a blue dalmatic lined with - red over a surplice; the canon a pink cope over a white surplice, and - black hood. The first bishop wears a cope of blue, the second of red, - the third of pink. The background is diapered blue and red with a gold - pattern. The wall of the building is blue with a gold pattern; the - altar-cloth, red and blue with gold embroidery. - - INTERIOR OF A CHURCH AT THE TIME OF MASS 204 - - A SERMON 215 - - The bishop in blue chasuble and white mitre, people in red and blue - tunics, two knights in chain armour, late 13th century. - - (1) BAPTISM BY AFFUSION 233 - - The male sponsor holds the child over the font, while the priest pours - water over its head from a shallow vessel. He wears a long full - surplice, his stole is yellow _seme_ with small crosses and fringed. - The parish clerk stands behind him, 15th century. - - (2) BAPTISM BY IMMERSION 233 - - Here the priest wears an albe apparelled and girded, and an amice, but - no stole; the sitting posture of the child occurs in other - representations, 14th century. - - CONFIRMATION. (From a printed Pontifical, A.D. 1520) 238 - - The bishop wears albe, dalmatic, cope, and mitre, the other clergy - surplice and "biretta." - - (1) PRIEST IN SURPLICE, CARRYING CIBORIUM THROUGH THE STREET TO A - SICK PERSON, PRECEDED BY THE PARISH CLERK WITH TAPER AND BELL 240 - - The ciborium, partly covered with a cloth, as in the illustration, - which the priest carries, is silvered in the original illustration, - and consequently comes out very imperfectly in the photograph. - - (2) PRIEST, ATTENDED BY CLERK, GIVING THE LAST SACRAMENT, 14TH - CENTURY 240 - - BISHOP AND DEACON IN ALBE AND TUNIC, ADMINISTERING HOLY COMMUNION 246 - - Two clerics in surplice hold the housel cloth to catch any of the - sacred elements which might accidentally fall. - - CONFESSION AT THE BEGINNING OF LENT 334 - - The priest in furred cope, the rood veiled; the altar has a red - frontal. The two men are in blue habit. The woman on the right is all - in black; the other, kneeling at a bench on the left, is in red gown - and blue hood. - - MARRIAGE 410 - - It represents the marriage of the Count Waleran de St. Pol with the - sister of Richard, King of England. The count is in a blue robe, the - princess in cloth of gold embroidered with green; the groomsman in - red, the man behind him in blue, the prince in the background in an - ermine cape. The ladies attending the princess wear cloth of gold, - blue, green, etc.; the bishop is vested in a light green cope over an - apparelled rochet, and a white mitre. The bishop (and in other - representations of marriage) takes hold of the wrists of the parties - in joining their hands. - - VESPERS OF THE DEAD 458 - - The mourners in black cloaks are at the east end of the stalls; the - pall over the coffin is red with a gold cross; the hearse has about - eighteen lighted tapers; the ecclesiastics seem to be friars in dark - brown habit (Franciscans). - - MEDIVAL NORWICH. (From Braun's "Theatrum") 492 - - MEDIVAL EXETER. (From Braun's "Theatrum") 498 - - MEDIVAL BRISTOL. (From Braun's "Theatrum") 500 - - KNIGHTS DOING PENANCE AT THE SHRINE OF ST. EDMUND 535 - - The abbot is vested in a gorgeous cope and mitre; one of the monks - behind him also wears a cope over his monk's habit. - -References to other pictorial illustrations in MSS. in the British Museum -are given in Appendix III., p. 567. - - - - -PARISH PRIESTS AND THEIR PEOPLE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -OUR HEATHEN FOREFATHERS. - - -When we have the pleasure of taking our Colonial visitors on railway -journeys across the length and breadth of England, and they see -cornfields, meadows, pastures, copses, succeed one another for mile after -mile, with frequent villages and country houses, what seems especially to -strike and delight them is the thoroughness and finish of the cultivation; -England seems to them, they say, like a succession of gardens, or, rather, -like one great garden. This is the result, we tell them, of two thousand -years of cultivation by an ever-increasing population. - -On the other hand, we are helped to understand what the land was like at -the time of the settlement in it of our Saxon forefathers, by the -descriptions which our Colonial friends give us of their surroundings in -Australia or Africa, where the general face of the country is still in its -primeval state, the settlements of men are dotted sparsely here and there, -the flocks and herds roam over "bush" or "veldt," and only just so much of -the land about the settlements is roughly cultivated as suffices the wants -of the settlers. - -For in England, in those remote times of which we have first to speak, the -land was, for the most part, unreclaimed. If we call to mind that the -English population about the end of the sixth century could only have been -about a million souls--200,000 families--we shall realize how small a -portion of the land they could possibly have occupied. A large proportion -of the country was still primeval forest, there were extensive tracts of -moorland, the low-lying districts were mere and marsh, the mountainous -districts wild and desolate. The country harboured wolf and bear, wild -cattle and swine, beaver and badger, wild cat, fox, and marten, eagle, -hawk, and heron, and other creatures, most of which have entirely -disappeared, though some linger on, interesting survivals, in remote -corners of the land. - -Their possession of the country by the English was the result of recent, -slow and desultory conquest. Independent parties of adventurers from the -country round about the mouth of the Elbe had crossed the German Ocean in -their keels, landed on the coast, or rowed up the rivers, and pushed -their way slowly against a tenacious resistance. Then, when a party of the -invaders had made good their conquest, came its division among the -conquerors. - -Our own history tells us so little of the details of the Anglo-Saxon -conquest, that we have to call in what we know of the manners of their -Teutonic neighbours and Scandinavian relatives to help us to understand -it. The late Sir W. Dasent, in his "Burnt Njal," says that the Norse -Viking, making an invasion with a view not to a mere raid, but to a -permanent settlement, would lay claim to the whole valley drained by the -river up which he had rowed his victorious keels; or, landing on the -coast, would climb some neighbouring height, point out the headlands which -he arbitrarily assigned as his boundaries on the coast, and claim all the -hinterland which he should be able to subdue. The chief would allot -extensive tracts to the subordinate leaders; and the freemen would be -settled, after their native custom of village communities, upon the most -fertile portions of the soil which their swords had helped to win. In the -broad alluvial lands of the river valleys there would be ample space for -several neighbouring townships; in forest clearings or fertile dales the -townships would be scattered at more or less wide intervals. The -unallotted lands belonged to the general community; it was Folk land, and -its allotment from time to time, probably, in theory needed confirmation -by a Folk-mote, but was practically made by the supreme chief. - -Every township possessed a tract of arable land, which was divided by lot -yearly among the families of the freemen; a tract of meadow, which was -reserved for hay, cultivated and harvested by the common labour; a wide -expanse of pasture, into which each family had the right to turn a fixed -number of cattle and sheep; and into the forest, a fixed number of swine -to feed on the acorns, mast, and roots.[1] The people were rude -agriculturists, not manufacturers, not traders, not civilized enough to -profit by the civilization which the Romans had established in the -country; they stormed and sacked the towns, and left them deserted, and -selected only the most fertile spots for occupation. - -It is a subject of dispute among our most learned historians to what -extent the native Britons were slain or retired before the invaders, or to -what extent they were taken as captives, or reappeared from their -fastnesses after the slaughter was over, to be the slaves of the -conquerors. When we first get glimpses of the situation of things after -the conquest, we find that the British language and religion have -disappeared from the Saxon half of the country; and this implies the -disappearance of the great body of the people. The fact of the continuance -of some ancient place-names, chiefly of great natural features, as hills -and rivers, and of a few British words for things for which the Teutons -had no names, would be sufficiently accounted for by the survival of a -very small remnant. - -In their native seats the social condition of these Angle and Saxon -freemen was patriarchal and primitive; they venerated their chiefs as -Woden-born; they elected one of them as their leader in battle; but they -did not obey them as their subjects. On questions of general importance -the chiefs and wise men advised the Folk-mote, and the people said "Aye" -or "No." But their circumstances in their new conquests led to changes. It -was necessary to maintain some sort of permanent military organization not -only for the defence of their new possessions, and the extension of their -conquests against the old inhabitants of the island, but also against the -encroachments of rival tribes of their own countrymen. And a supreme -chief, to whom all paid a kind of religious veneration, who exercised -permanent military authority over lesser chiefs and people, soon became a -king; limited, however, in power by the ancient institutions of the -Council of the wise men, and the assent or dissent of the Folk-mote. - -The several parties of invaders gradually extended their conquests until -they met, and then made treaties or fought battles with one another, -until, finally, by the end of the sixth century, they had organized -themselves into seven independent kingdoms. - -The freemen of each Township managed their own affairs in a town meeting; -a number of neighbouring townships were grouped into what was called by -the Saxons south of the Humber a Hundred, by the Angles north of the -Humber a Wapentake; and each township sent four or five of its freemen to -represent it in the Hundred-mote every three months. Three times a year, -in summer, autumn, and midwinter, a general meeting of the freemen was -held--a Folk-mote--at some central place; to which every township was -required to send so many footmen armed with sword, spear, and shield, and -so many horsemen properly equipped. At these Folk-motes affairs of general -interest were determined, justice was administered by the chief and -priests,[2] and probably it was at these meetings that the great acts of -national worship were celebrated. Except for these periodical meetings, -the scattered townships existed in great isolation. A striking -illustration of this isolation is afforded by laws of Wihtred of Kent and -of Ine of the West Saxons, which enact--or perhaps merely record an -ancient unwritten law--that if any stranger approached a township off the -highway without shouting or sounding a horn to announce his coming, he -might be slain as a thief, and his relatives have no redress. A subsequent -law of Edgar[3] enacts that if he have with him an ox or a dog, with a -bell hanging to his neck, and sounding at every step, that should be taken -as sufficient warning, otherwise he must sound his horn. The local -exclusiveness produced by this isolation, the suspicion and dislike of -strangers, survive to this day in secluded villages in the wilder parts of -the country. - - * * * * * - -These Teutonic tribes were heathen at the time of their coming into the -land. Of their religion and its observances our own historians have given -no detailed account, and few incidental notices. Our names for the days of -the week, Sun-day, Moon-day, Tuisco's-day, Woden's-day, Thor's-day, -Frya's-day, Saeter's-day, make it certain that our Anglo-Saxon ancestors -worshipped the same gods as their Scandinavian neighbours, and probable -that their religion as a whole was similar. Their supreme god was Odin or -Woden, with whom were associated the twelve sir and their goddess-wives, -and a multitude of other supernatural beings. In their belief in an -All-father, superior to all the gods and goddesses--we recognize a relic -of an earlier monotheism. They had structural temples, and in connection -with their temples they had idols, priests, altars, and sacrifices. They -believed in the immortality of the soul, in an intermediate state, and a -final heaven and hell. The souls of the brave and good, they believed, -went to Asgard, the abode of the sir; there the warriors all day enjoyed -the fierce delight of combat, and in the evening all their wounds healed, -and they spent the night in feasting in Valhalla, the hall of the gods; -the wicked went to Niflheim, a place of pain and terror. But the time -would come when the earth, and sun, and stars, and Valhalla, and the gods, -and giants, and elves, should be consumed in a great and general -conflagration, and then Gimli and Nastrond, the eternal heaven and hell, -should be revealed. Gimli--a new earth adorned with green meadows, where -the fields bring forth without culture, and calamities are unknown; where -there is a palace more shining than the sun, and where religious and -well-minded men shall abide for ever; Nastrond--a place full of serpents -who vomit forth venom, in which shall wade evil men and women, and -murderers and adulterers. - -A knowledge of their religious customs would help us to judge what -hindrance they opposed to the reception of the system of the Christian -Church; or, on the other hand, what facilities they offered for the -substitution of one for the other; but it is only from the assumption that -the religious customs of our English ancestors were similar to those of -the Norsemen that we are able to form to ourselves any conception on the -subject. - -In Iceland, conformably to the constitution of its government, each -several district (the island was divided into four districts) had its -priest who not only presided over the religious rites of the people, but -also directed the deliberations of the people when their laws were made, -and presided over the administration of justice (Neander, "Church Hist.," -v. 418). - -Sir W. Dasent says that after the Norse conqueror had marked out his -boundaries and settled his people on their holdings, and chosen a site for -his own rude timber hall, he erected in its neighbourhood a temple in -which his followers might worship the gods of their forefathers, and that -this was one means of maintaining their habitual attachment to his -leadership.[4] The evidence leads to the conclusion that both -Scandinavians and Teutons had very few structural temples, perhaps only -one to each tribe or nation; and perhaps only three great annual occasions -of tribal or national worship. We get a glimpse of one of these structural -temples in the story of the conversion of Norway.[5] The great temple at -Mre, in the Drontheim district, contained wooden images of the gods; the -people assembled there thrice a year at midwinter, spring, and harvest; -the people feasted on horseflesh slain in sacrifice, and wine blessed in -the name and in honour of the gods; and human victims were sometimes -offered. - -The English townships, generally, it is probable, had no structural -temples, but sacred places of resort, as an open space in the forest, or a -hilltop, or a striking mass of rock, or a notable tree or well. The -religious observances at such places would probably not be a regular -worship of the gods, but such superstitions as the passing of children -through clefts in rocks and trees, dropping pins into wells, and others; -these superstitions survived for centuries, for they are forbidden by a -law of Canute,[6] and one of them, the consultation of wells, so late as -by a canon of Archbishop Anselm;[7] and, in spite of laws, and canons, and -civilization, and a thousand years of Christianity, some of them survive -among the peasantry of remote districts to this very day. - -In the "Ecclesiastical History" of Bede, we find notices of only three -structural heathen temples in England. The first is that at Godmundingham, -which Coifi, the chief of the king's priests, with the assent of King -Edwin and his counsellors and thanes, defiled and destroyed on the -acceptance of Christianity at the preaching of Paulinus. Of this we read -that it had a _fanum_, enclosed with _septis_, which contained _idola_ and -_aras_;[8] and since the temple was set on fire and thus destroyed, it -seems likely that the fanum was of timber. The second temple named is the -building east of Canterbury, in which King Ethelbert was accustomed to -worship while yet a heathen, which, on the king's conversion, was -consecrated as a church and dedicated to St. Pancras, and was soon -afterwards incorporated into the monastery of SS. Peter and Paul built on -the site. This was probably a stone building, and recent researches have -brought to light what are possibly remains of it. The third temple is that -in which Redwald, King of the East Anglians, after his conversion at the -Court of Ethelbert, worshipped Christ at one altar, while his queen -continued the old heathen worship at another altar in the same building. -It will be observed that all these were the temples of kings, and this -accords with the supposition that such structural temples existed only in -the chief places for worship of tribes and nations; just as the twelve -tribes of Israel had only one great national temple, while they had -numerous altars on the "high places" all over the country.[9] - -Again, there is a remarkable absence all through the history of any -mention of, or allusion to, the existence of a priesthood ministering -among the people. The only priest clearly mentioned is the worldly-minded -Coifi spoken of above, but as he is mentioned as "the chief of the king's -priests," we assume that there was a staff of them, probably attached to -the king's temple at Godmundingham. We suppose that Ethelbert of Kent, and -Redwald of East Anglia, would also have a priest or priests attached to -their temples; but we find no trace or indication of any others. - -This all tends to confirm our belief that there were few structural -temples, one for each kingdom, or perhaps one for each of the great tribes -which had coalesced into a kingdom; and that the priests were only a small -staff attached to each of these temples; while all the rest of the temples -were open-air places to which the neighbouring inhabitants resorted for -minor observances, without the assistance of any formal priesthood. - -Another possible source of information on the subject is the ancient -place-names. Godmundingham naturally invites consideration, and looks -promising at first sight; but analyzed and interpreted it means the home -of the sons of Godmund, and Godmund merely means "protection of God" as a -_name_.[10] - -The Saxon word Hearh[11] means either a temple or an idol.[12] Hearga is -the word by which the _fanum_ at Godmundingham and Redwald's _fanum_ is -translated in Alfred's version of Bede. It seems possible that this word -may be the root of such place-names as Harrow-on-the-Hill, Harrowgate, -Yorks, and Harrowden, Northants. Such place-names as Wednesbury, -Wedensfield, Satterthwaite, Satterleigh, Baldersby, Balderstone, -Bulderton, and those of which Thor or Thur is the first syllable, may -possibly indicate places where a temple or an idol or well has existed of -Woden, or Saeter, or Baldur, or Thor; as Thrus Kell (Thor's Well) in -Craven.[13] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE CONVERSION OF THE ENGLISH. - - -The history of the conversion of our heathen forefathers has happily been -told so often in recent times that it is not necessary to repeat it here. -It is sufficient for our purpose to recall to mind how when Augustine and -his Italian company came to Kent, they addressed themselves to King -Ethelbert, who had married a Christian princess of the House of Clovis, -and were permitted by him to settle and preach in his kingdom; how King -Oswald, on his recovery of his ancestral kingdom of Northumbria, sent to -the Fathers of Iona, among whom he had learnt Christianity during his -exile, for missionaries to convert his people; how Sigebert, King of the -East Saxons, and Peada, sub-King of the Middle Angles in Mercia, obtained -missionaries from Northumbria; how Sigebert, King of the East Angles, -invited Bishop Felix to give to his people the religion and civilization -which he had learnt in exile in Burgundy; how the Italian Bishop Birinus -came to the Court of King Cynegils, and converted him, and taught among -the men of Wessex; and, finally, how Wilfrid of York began the conversion -of the South Saxons. - -[Illustration: The Ruined Cathedral, Iona.] - -In the Apostolic Age, the conversion of people in a condition of ancient -civilization began among the lower classes of the people, and ascended -slowly man by man through the higher classes, and it was three hundred -years before the conversion of the Emperor Constantine made Christianity -the religion of the empire. In the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, -the work began in every case with the kings and the higher classes of the -people; and the people under their leadership abandoned their old religion -and accepted Christianity as the national religion, and put themselves -under the teaching of the missionaries, as a general measure of national -policy. - -The explanation of this probably is that their Teutonic kinsmen, Goths, -Burgundians, and Franks, who had carved for themselves kingdoms out of the -body of the Roman empire, having accepted the religion and the -civilization of the people they had conquered, were growing rapidly in -prosperity and the arts of civilized life. Christianity was the religion -of the new Teutonic civilization, and heathenism was a part of the old -state of barbarism. The Angles and Saxons, when they fastened upon this -derelict province of the empire, were too barbarous to appreciate -civilization, and destroyed it; but by the time that they had been settled -for some generations in their new seats they had outgrown their old wild -heathenism; and their kings had become sufficiently politic to desire to -learn how to raise the new kingdoms which they governed to an equality -with those of the kindred Continental nations. Hence, some of the -heptarchic kings sought for Christian teachers to help them, and others -were willing to receive them when they offered themselves. - -Our previous study of the organization, religion, and customs of the -people will help us to understand the process of the revolution. The -kings, when converted, put the matter before the constitutional council of -chiefs and wise men, and with their assent, and perhaps after a reference -of the question to a folk-mote, formally adopted the new religion. The -history which Bede gives of the first acceptance of Christianity in -Northumbria, under the teaching of Paulinus, affords a profoundly -interesting example of the process--the long hesitation of the king, the -discussion in the witan, the general acceptance of the new faith, the zeal -of the chief priest in destroying the national temple, the flocking of the -people to the preaching of Paulinus, and their baptism in multitudes in -the neighbouring rivers. - -In no instance were the missionaries persecuted; in no instance did the -kings coerce their people into the acceptance of the new religion.[14] In -such a wholesale transition from one religion to another, it is not -surprising that there occurred partial and temporary relapses, as in Kent -and Essex, on the death of King Ethelbert, 616, in Wessex on the death of -Cynegils, 643, and again in Essex, after the plague of 664; still less -surprising that old superstitions retained their hold of the minds of a -rude and ignorant people for centuries.[15] - -If we are right in our conjectures that every kingdom had a national -temple at the principal residence of the king with a small staff of -priests, and a few smaller temples with their priests under the patronage -of some of the subordinate chiefs, and that these temples were resorted to -by the people for special acts of common worship at the great festivals -three or four times in the course of the year, then it would not be -difficult for the new religion to supply to the people all that they had -been accustomed to of religious observances. Churches on the sites of the -old temples, with their clergy, and services on the great festivals of the -Christian year, would satisfy the customs of the people; and, in fact, the -circumstances of the Christian missionaries led in the first instance to -arrangements of this nature. - -In every kingdom the king, who had been the patron of the old religion, -took the new teachers under his protection, and made provision for their -maintenance by the donation of an estate in land with farmers and slaves -upon it; thus Ethelbert gave to Augustine a church and house in -Canterbury, and land outside the city for a site for his monastery, and -estates at Reculver and elsewhere for maintenance; Oswald gave to Aidan -the isle of Lindisfarne, under the shadow of his principal residence at -Bamborough; Ethelwalch gave Wilfred eighty-seven hides at Selsey, and -Wilfrid began his work, as probably the other missionary bishops did, by -emancipating his slaves and baptizing them; Cynegils, on his baptism, gave -Birinus lands round Winchester, and his son Coinwalch endowed the church -there with three manors; a little later, Wulfhere of Mercia gave Chad a -wild tract of a hundred thousand acres between Lichfield and Ecclesfield. -This was the "establishment" and beginning of the "endowment" of the -Church in England. - -The bishop in every kingdom first built a church and set up Divine -service, then simultaneously set up a school, and invited the king and -chiefs to send their sons to be educated. Aidan took twelve youths of -noble birth as his pupils, and added slaves whom he purchased. The young -men of noble families showed themselves eager to avail themselves of the -teaching and training of the missionaries, and readily offered themselves -to training for Holy Orders. The ladies at first, before there were -monasteries for women in England, went to the monasteries at Brie and -Chelles near Paris, and at Andelys near Rouen, which were under the -government of members of the Frankish royal families. From his central -station the bishop went out and sent his priests on missionary journeys to -the neighbouring townships, to teach and baptize. - -We know that all the first missionary bishops, except Felix and Birinus, -and perhaps they also, and most of their clergy, had been trained in the -monastic life of that time, so that it was natural to them to live in -community, under the rule of a superior, a very simple and regular life, -with frequent offices of prayer, and duties carefully defined, and -scrupulously fulfilled; a beautiful object-lesson on the Christian life -for the study of the king and his household, and the people round about -the bishop's town. - -Bede gives some interesting stories which illustrate this early phase of -the English conversion. He tells us how Paulinus preached all day long to -the people at Yeverin and Catterick[16] in Northumbria, and at -Southwell[17] in Lindsey, and baptized the people by hundreds in the -neighbouring rivers. He tells us how Aidan preached to Oswald's Court and -people, and the King interpreted for him;[18] how Aidan travelled through -the country on foot, accompanied by a group of monks and laymen, -meditating on the scriptures, or singing psalms as they went;[19] not that -he needed to travel on foot, for King Oswin had given him a fine horse -which he might use in crossing rivers, or upon any urgent necessity; but a -short time after, a poor man meeting him, and asking alms, the good bishop -bestowed upon him the horse with its royal trappings.[20] We learn from -the same authority that the company which attended a missionary bishop in -his progress through the country were not always singing psalms as they -went. Herebald, a pupil of St. John of Beverley, relates how one day as -that bishop and his clergy and pupils were journeying, they came to a -piece of open ground well adapted for galloping their horses, and the -young men importuned the bishop for permission to try their speed, which -he reluctantly granted; and so they ran races till Herebald was thrown, -and, striking his head against a stone, lay insensible; whereupon they -pitched a tent over him.[21] - -An "interior" picture is afforded by a sentence in the life of -Boniface,[22] who was afterwards to be the Apostle of Germany. When the -itinerant teachers used to come to the township in which Winfrid's father -was the principal proprietor, they were hospitably entertained at his -father's house; and the child would presently talk with them as well as he -could, at such an early age (six or seven years), about heavenly things, -and inquire what might hereafter profit himself and his weakness (A.D. -680). - -Finally Bede sums up the work of this period. "The religious habit was at -that period in great veneration; so that wheresoever any clergyman or monk -happened to come, he was joyfully received by all persons as God's -servant; and if they chanced to meet him on the way, they ran to him, and, -bowing, were glad to be signed with his hand, or blessed with his mouth. -On Sundays they flocked eagerly to the Church or the monasteries, not to -feed their bodies, but to hear the Word of God; and if any priest happened -to come into a village, the inhabitants flocked together to hear the word -of life; for the priests and clergymen went into the village on no other -account than to preach, baptize, visit the sick, and, in short, to take -care of souls."[23] - -So Cuthbert, a little later, not only afforded counsels and an example of -regular life to his monastery, "but often went out of the monastery, -sometimes on horseback, but oftener on foot, and repaired to the -neighbouring towns, where he preached the way to such as were gone astray; -which had been also done by his predecessor Boisil in his time. He was -wont chiefly to visit the villages seated high among the rocky uncouth -mountains, whose poverty and barbarity made them inaccessible to other -teachers. He would sometimes stay away from the monastery one, two, three -weeks, and even a whole month among the mountains, to allure the rustic -people by his eloquent preaching to heavenly employments."[24] - -It seems likely that the itinerating missionaries, on arriving at a -township, would seek out the chief man, first to ask hospitality from him, -and next to engage his interest with the people to assemble together at -some convenient place to hear his preaching. When the people were -converted, he would make arrangements for periodical visits to them for -Divine service, and the "convenient place" would become their outdoor -church; and there is good reason to believe that in many cases a cross of -stone or wood, whichever was the most accessible material, was erected to -mark and hallow the place.[25] - -Even after a priest was permanently settled, and a church built at the -ville of the lord of the land, the scattered hamlets on the estate would -still, perhaps for centuries, have only open-air stations for prayer. It -is very possible that some of these were the places where the people, -while unconverted, had been used to assemble for their ancient religious -ceremonies. - -[Illustration: Saxon Cross at Ruthwell, c. 680 A.D. (For its history and -description, see "Theodore and Wilfrid," by the Bishop of Bristol.)] - -Some of the Saxon churchyard crosses which still remain, as at Whalley, -Bakewell, Eyam, etc., possibly were station crosses. Possibly the well -which exists in some churches and churchyards, and the yew tree of vast -antiquity found in many churchyards, would carry us back, if we knew their -story, to pre-Christian times and heathen ceremonials. - -[Illustration: Churchyard Cross, Eyam, Derbyshire.] - -In time a church or chapel was built in this accustomed place of assembly, -as we shall find in a later chapter. But here we have to throw out a -conjecture as to an intermediate state of things between the open-air -station and the structural church. We have before us the curious fact that -usually the rector of a church is liable for the repair of the chancel, -and the people for the repair of the nave. This seems to point to the fact -that the forerunner of the rector built the first chancel, and left the -people to build the nave; and we suggest the following explanation; at -first in the worship of these stations, a temporary table was placed on -trestles, and a "portable altar" upon that, and so the holy mysteries were -celebrated. But in rainy weather this was inconvenient and unseemly; and -the rector of the parish provided a kind of little chapel for the -protection of the altar and ministrant; indeed, there is an ancient -foreign canon which requires rectors to do so. Then the parishioners, for -their own shelter from the weather, built a nave on to the chancel, -communicating with it by an arch through which the congregation could -conveniently see and hear the service. - -[Illustration: Base of Acca's Cross, c. 740 A.D., from "Theodore and -Wilfrid," by the Bishop of Bristol. S.P.C.K.] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE MONASTIC PHASE OF THE CHURCH. - - -We have seen how the bishops who introduced the Christian Faith into the -heptarchic kingdoms established themselves and their clergy as religious -communities, on the lands, and with the means which the kings gave them, -built their churches and schools, and made them the centres of their -evangelizing work. The next stage in the work was the multiplication of -similar centres. The princes and ealdormen who were in subordinate -authority over subdivisions of a kingdom would have two motives for -desiring to have such establishments beside them. First they had very -likely in some cases been the patrons of a temple or an idol, and a -priest, near their principal residence, and would desire to maintain their -influence over their dependents and neighbours by keeping up a similar -place of religious worship for them. Secondly, as enlightened men and -zealous converts, they would be glad to have near them some of these new -teachers of religion and civilization, and to establish one of these -centres of light and leading to the neighbouring country. The bishops also -obtained grants of land from the king in suitable places, in order to -found on them new centres of evangelization. - -Thus in Kent, Ethelbert founded the monastery of SS. Peter and Paul, which -is better known to us as St. Augustine's (A.D. 603), and his son Eadbald -founded an offshoot from it at Dover (630). In 633 the latter king founded -a nunnery at Folkestone as a provision for his daughter Eanswitha, who -became its first abbess. And when, in the same year, his sister Ethelburga -arrived as a refugee from Northumbria, he made provision for her by the -gift of an estate at Lyminge, where the widowed queen founded a monastery. -On the death of Earconbert, 664, Sexburga, his widow, built for herself a -nunnery in the Isle of Sheppy. Sexburga was succeeded at Sheppy by her -daughter Eormenhilda, and she by her daughter Werburga. Eormenburga, -granddaughter of King Eadbald, built a nunnery, of which she was the first -abbess, in the Isle of Thanet; and was succeeded by her daughter St. -Mildred. Lastly, King Egbert, in 669, gave Reculver to his mass-priest, -Bass, that he might build a minster thereon. - -In Northumbria, King Edwin built a church at York. Oswald gave Aidan the -Isle of Lindisfarne as the site of a religious house to be a centre of -missionary work in Northumbria. Aidan encouraged Hieu, the first nun of -the Northumbrian race, to organize a small nunnery on the north bank of -the Wear, and to remove thence to Hartlepool; there she was succeeded by -Hilda, the grand-niece of King Edwin, who subsequently removed to Whitby. -Besides organizing that famous double house, Hilda founded Hackness and -several other cells on estates of the abbey. The nunnery at Coldingham was -founded by Ebba, sister of King Oswald, who was herself the first abbess. -King Oswy, on the eve of battle with Penda (655), vowed, in case of -victory, to dedicate his infant daughter Elfleda to God, and to give -twelve estates to build monasteries. In fulfilment of his vow, he gave -Elfleda into the charge of Hilda, at Hartlepool (655), and gave six -estates in Bernicia and six in Deira, each of ten families (= hides of -land), of which probably Whitby was one, and perhaps Ripon and Hexham were -others. Benedict Biscop, a man of noble if not royal descent, received -grants of land from King Egfrid to found his famous monastery at Wearmouth -in 674, and eleven years later (685) at Jarrow. King Oswy built a -monastery at Gilling to atone for the crime of the slaughter of his -brother there (642), that prayer might be daily offered up for the souls -of both the slain and the slayer. King Ethelwald, son of Oswald and -sub-king of Deira, gave Bishop Cedd of the East Saxons a site for a -monastery at Lastingham, Yorkshire, that he might himself sometimes resort -to it for prayer, and might be buried there. Cedd left the monastery, on -his death, to his brother Chadd, afterwards Bishop of Lichfield. -Wulfhere, King of Mercia, gave Chadd fifty hides of land for the endowment -of his abbey at Barton-on-Humber. - -In the fen country of the Girvii, between Mercia and East Anglia, the two -kings, Peada of Mercia, and Oswy of the East Angles, concurred in the -foundation of a monastery at Medeshamsted (Peterborough, 655), and this -was followed by the foundation of Croyland (716) and Thorney (682). When -Etheldreda, the daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles, and virgin wife -of Egfrid of Northumbria, at length obtained her husband's leave to enter -upon the religious life, she built herself a double monastery on her own -estate in the Isle of Ely (673). On her death, she was succeeded as abbess -by her sisters Sexburga, Eormenhilda and Werburga, each of whom had -previously been abbesses at Sheppy. - -Among the West Saxons, a small community of Irish monks, at Malmesbury -(675), was enlarged by Aldhelm, a man of royal extraction, into a great -centre of religion and learning; and he and Bishop Daniel founded a number -of small monasteries, as Nutcelle (700) and Bradfield, up and down that -kingdom.[26] - -[Illustration: Saxon Church at Bradford-on-Avon. (Probably one of Bishop -Aldhelm's churches.)] - -The four priests whom Peada, the son of Penda, on his conversion, took -back with him from Northumbria to his Princedom of the Middle Angles, -lived together in community for some years, till, by the death of Penda, -his son attained the Kingship of Mercia, and then Diuma was consecrated -Bishop of the Mercians, and established his see at Lichfield. Earconwald -(who was afterwards Bishop of London, 674), a man of noble birth, built a -monastery for himself at Chertsey in Surrey, and a nunnery at Barking in -Essex, for his sister Ethelberga. "The vales of Worcestershire and -Gloucestershire were famous for the multitude and grandeur of their -monastic institutions." A monastic cell is said to have been founded at -Tewkesbury in 675, and one at Deerhurst, by Ethelmund the ealdorman, at a -still earlier date. Osric, the Prince of Wiccii, was probably the founder -of St. Peter's Nunnery, Gloucester, and of Bath Abbey. Apparently his -brother Oswald founded Pershore Abbey; and their sister Cyneburga was the -first Abbess of Gloucester. Saxulph, Bishop of Lichfield, founded a little -religious house of St. Peter, at Worcester, which became the see of the -first Bishop of Worcester, when that diocese was founded by Archbishop -Theodore (680). Egwine, Bishop of Worcester, founded a monastery at -Evesham (702), and laying down his bishopric, retired thither to spend the -remainder of his life as its abbot.[27] - - * * * * * - -The following names will nearly complete the list of religious houses up -to the end of the eighth century: Abingdon, 675; Acle, seventh century; -Amesbury, 600; Bardney, seventh century; Bedrichsworth (St. Edmunds), 630; -Bosham, 681; Bredon, 761; Caistor, 650; Carlisle, 686; Clive, 790; -Cnobheresbury (Burgh Castle), 637; Congresbury, 474; Dacor, seventh -century; Derauuda, 714; Dereham, 650; Finchale, seventh century; Fladbury, -691; Gateshead, seventh century; Glastonbury, fifth century; Ikanho -(Boston), 654; Ithanacester, 630; Kempsey, 799; Kidderminster, 736; -Leominster, 660; Oundle, 711; Oxford St. Frideswide, 735; Partney, seventh -century; Petrocstow, sixth century; Peykirk, eighth century; Redbridge, -Hants. (Hreutford), 680; Repton, 660; Rochester, 600; St. Albans, 793; -York St. Mary's, 732; Selsey, 681; Sherborne, 671; Stamford, 658; Stone, -Staff., 670; Stratford-on-Avon, 703; Tetbury, 680; Tilbury, 630; Tinmouth, -633; Walton, Yorks., 686; Wedon, 680; Wenloch, 680; Westminster, 604; -Wilton, 773; Wimborne, 713; Winchcombe, 787; Winchester, 646; Withington, -seventh century.[28] - -The fashion of founding religious houses spread among the smaller -landowners, and some begged land of the king on which to found them. - - * * * * * - -Some of these religious houses were great and solemn monasteries, like -those of Italy and France, with noble churches and frequent services; and -their inmates lived a secluded life, devoted to learning, meditation, and -prayer. St. Augustine's monastery at Canterbury was the earliest of them. -Benedict Biscop's monasteries at Wearmouth and Jarrow, and Wilfrid's at -Ripon and Hexham, and others, were of this type. - -The life of these greater monasteries was led according to a strict and -ascetic rule. St. Augustine would certainly adopt at Canterbury the rule -which his master, Gregory, had drawn up for his own house of St. Andrew on -the Coelian Hill. Benedict Biscop built his houses and framed his rule -after repeated visits to Italy and France and a careful study of the most -famous of their religious communities; Wilfrid would certainly introduce a -similar rule into the monasteries over which he presided; these would -follow the main lines of the Benedictine rule; though that, in its -entirety, was not introduced till the reformation of the monasteries in -the time of King Egbert and Archbishop Dunstan. The monastery at -Lindisfarne would naturally follow the customs of Iona and the less rigid -life of the Scottish religious houses; and is to be regarded rather as a -citadel of Christian learning, and a centre of evangelization, than as a -place devoted to seclusion and contemplation. The other religious houses -which owed their existence to the missionaries from Lindisfarne would be -likely to follow its customs. - -Some of the smaller religious houses were conducted on the same lines of -strict ascetic discipline as the greater monasteries; but in many of them -the life was little more "regular" or ascetic than that of an ordinary -household--say that of a church dignitary--scrupulous in the attendance of -all its members at the daily services in the oratory, and in the strict -decorum of their daily life. This opened an easy door to abuse, and in a -short time the discipline of many of the monasteries had become very lax. - -One remarkable feature of these early monasteries is that many of them -were hereditary properties, and the rule over them often descended from -father to son and from mother to daughter. We have seen the successions in -the Kentish monasteries and at Ely from sister to sister and from mother -to daughter. Cedd bequeathed his monastery of Lastingham to his brother -Chad. Benedict Biscop saw the danger of the custom, and declared that he -would not transfer his monasteries to his own brother unless he was a fit -person to be abbot. Whitgils built a small church and monastery at -Spurnhead in Holderness, and left them to his heirs; they came at last, by -legitimate succession, to no less distinguished a person than Alcuin; who -was, therefore, not only Abbot of Tours, with its vast territory on which -there were 200,000 serfs, but also of this little monastery in his native -country. Hedda, who styles himself mass-priest, in 790 bequeathed his -patrimonial inheritance, consisting of two large parcels of land, with a -minster on one of them, limiting the succession of the latter to clergymen -of his family considered capable of ruling a minster according to -ecclesiastical law, and in default of such heir, it was to go to Worcester -Cathedral, where he had been bred and schooled ("Cod. Dipl.," i. -206).[29] - -It is easy to understand how it was that in process of time many of these -semi-secular religious houses passed easily into the status of parochial -rectories; and, on the other hand, how a rectory, which often had a number -of chaplains and clerks to assist the rector in ministering to the mother -church and its outlying chapels, came to be called a "minster." - -In the Danish invasions and occupations, most of these religious houses -were plundered and ruined, the greater houses were not at once reoccupied -on the restoration of order, and most of the smaller houses disappeared. - -In the course of the revival of religion in the reign of Edgar under the -influence of Dunstan, it was the boast of the king and his ecclesiastical -advisers that they had restored not less than forty of the old -monasteries, and brought them to the discipline of the Benedictine rule. A -few monasteries were restored or founded after that time, notably by -Canute at Bury St. Edmunds, and at Hulme in Norfolk, and by Edward the -Confessor at Westminster; but at the time of the Conquest there were -probably not more than about fifty monasteries in the country of any -account; and in the latter part of the period the monastic zeal of -Dunstan's revival had cooled down to a level of average religiousness. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -DIOCESAN AND PAROCHIAL ORGANIZATION. - - -The English Conversion forms a remarkable chapter in the general history -of Christian missions; the piety, simplicity, zeal, and unselfishness of -the missionaries are beyond praise; not less remarkable is the earnestness -with which the English embraced the new faith and the civilization which -came together with it. The fact bears witness to the intellectual and -moral qualities of the people that in the very first generation of -converts there were men of learning and character like Wilfrid and -Benedict Biscop, like the pupils of Hilda of Whitby, like Ithamar and -Deusdedit in Kent, worthy of taking place among the bishops and abbots of -their time. - -The royal and noble ladies who played so important a part, in the -influence they exercised in affairs, or in the foundation and rule of -religious houses which trained bishops and priests, present a spectacle, -almost unparalleled in history, of which their descendants may well be -proud. - -The English kings and nobles put themselves frankly under the guidance of -their teachers not only in religion and literature, but in the arts of -civilization. The three codes of law which have remained to us--the first -written laws of the English race--carry proof on the face of them that -they were compiled under the influence of the Christian teachers. The -princes sought their counsel in the Witenagemot, and put them beside the -secular judges in the administration of justice at the hundred and folk -motes. "In a single century England became known to Christendom as a -fountain of light, as a land of learned men, of devout and unwearied -missions, of strong, rich, and pious kings."[30] - -By the third quarter of the seventh century the first fervour of the -English conversion had cooled down, and circumstances produced a kind of -crisis. One of those plagues which at intervals ravaged medival -Europe--it was called the Yellow Pest--during the summer of 664 swept over -England from south to north. Earconbert, King of Kent, and Deusdedit, the -first native bishop of the Kentish men, died on the same day; Damian, -Bishop of Rochester, probably died a little before his brother of -Canterbury. In the north, Tuda, recently appointed Bishop of Northumbria, -died, and Cedd, Bishop of the East Saxons, then staying at his monastery -of Lastingham. The half of the East Saxons who were under the rule of the -sub-king Sighere, thinking the pest a result of the anger of the ancient -gods, apostatized from the faith. The differences between the two "schools -of thought," the Continental in the south of the country, and the Scotic -in the north, were causing friction and inconvenience, so much so that the -bishops elect of the Continental school hesitated to receive consecration -from the bishops of the Celtic school; Wilfrid of York had at this very -time gone to seek consecration from the Frankish bishops. In this crisis, -Oswy, King of Northumbria, agreed with Egbert, who succeeded Earconbert in -Kent, to send a priest acceptable to both schools to Rome, to study things -in that centre of Western Christendom, to get consecration from the Bishop -of Rome, and then to return and reduce the ecclesiastical affairs of -England to a common order. Wighard, a Kentish priest, sent in pursuance of -this wise plan, died in Rome; and, to save time, at the request of the -English Churches, Vitalian, the Bishop of Rome, selected Theodore of -Tarsus, a learned priest of the Greek Church, consecrated him, and sent -him to be archbishop of the English. - -With Theodore (668-690) begins a new chapter in our history. His -antecedents, as a member of the Eastern Church, eminently qualified him to -look impartially upon the two schools, the Italian and the Scotic, into -which the religious world of England was divided, and to address himself -with broad views of ecclesiastical polity to the task of organizing the -Heptarchic Churches into a harmonious province of the Catholic Church. - -In 673, at the instance of Theodore, and under the presidency of Hlothere, -King of Kent, a synod was held at Hertford, attended by all the English -bishops but one, and by the kings and many of the principal nobles and -clergy, at which the independent national Churches agreed to unite in an -Ecclesiastical Province, with the Bishop of Canterbury as its -metropolitan; it was further agreed that the bishops and clergy should -meet in synod twice a year, once always in August at Clovesho, the other -was probably left to the convenience of the moment as to time and place, -but was usually held at Cealchyth. Augustine and his successors at -Canterbury had never been practically more than bishops of the Kentish -men, with the titular distinction of archbishop which Gregory gave them. -Theodore, says Bede, was the first archbishop whom the Churches of the -English obeyed. This gave Theodore the authority necessary for the -carrying out of his plans for the peace and progress of the Church. - -One feature of Theodore's policy was the breaking up of some of the larger -sees. This was not done without opposition. There was much to be said in -favour of the idea of "one king one bishop;" it fell in with the political -organization and it had the prestige of ancient use. But Theodore, looking -at the subject from his point of view, as the ruler of an ecclesiastical -province, saw the desirableness of breaking it up into dioceses of more -manageable size. He was opposed by Wilfrid of York, who resented the -diminution of his great position as Bishop of the Northumbrian kingdom, -by the division of the diocese into four, York, Lindisfarne, Hexham, and -Whithern; but his opposition was overborne by the firmness of the King of -Northumbria and the archbishop. Wilfrid carried his complaint to Rome, -which is the first example of an appeal from the English to the Roman -Court, and raises the question of the relations of the English Church to -the Bishop of Rome. It is sufficient to say here in reference to the Roman -decision in Wilfrid's favour on this and subsequent occasions, that -neither Archbishop Theodore, nor the clergy, nor the king and thanes of -the Witan, showed any disposition to accept the intervention of the Bishop -of Rome, or to defer to his judgment in the matter; and that Wilfrid was -punished by the king with imprisonment and exile for his contumacy. - -The Bishop of Mercia, backed by the king, resisted the subdivision of that -vast diocese; and it was not until after Theodore's death that his plan -was carried into effect of dividing it into four, Lichfield, Hereford, -Worcester, Leicester, with Sidnacester for Lindsey, recently reconquered -from Northumbria. It was not till 705 that the great diocese of Wessex was -divided into two, Winchester and Sherburn, and further subdivided in the -time of Alfred the Great by the erection of sees for Somerset, Wilts, and -Devon. A new English see in Cornwall, on its conquest by Athelstan, -completed the list of Saxon bishoprics. - -The annual meeting of the Churches in synods was a very important -consequence of their organization into a province. Kings and their -councillors and great thanes came to the synods, as well as bishops and -clergy. It is probable that the laymen had no formal voice in the -ecclesiastical legislation, but their attestation and assent would add to -the authority of the acts of the councils in the estimation of the people. -The general synods would promote the regular holding of diocesan -synods.[31] One direct result of these frequent assemblies would be to -give a stimulus to the work of the Church all over the land. Another -incidental result would be to afford a stable centre of affairs, and to -promote the growth of a sentiment of nationality. Political affairs were -in a state of great disturbance. In some of the kingdoms rival pretenders -waged civil war, and now one, now another won the throne, while the bishop -maintained his position undisturbed. Nations warred against one another, -now Mercia reduced other kingdoms to dependence, and again Wessex asserted -a supremacy over others; but the synods continued to unite the bishops and -clergy of the kingdoms south of the Thames in frequent consultation for -the common good. - - * * * * * - -Theodore's idea in setting himself to divide the national bishoprics was -to multiply episcopal centres of orderly Church life, adequate to the -needs of the Christian flock. The settling of priests among the scattered -people to take pastoral charge of them was a natural sequel to the former -movement. The practical way of effecting it was to induce the landowners -to accept and make provision for a resident priest who should have the -pastoral care of their households and people. - -It is not historically true that Theodore invented this idea of parochial -organization, because it already existed in countries where the church had -been longer established. Rome was virtually divided into forty parishes -before the end of the third century. The system of appointing a priest to -take charge of all the souls within a definite district existed in the -city of Alexandria in the time of Athanasius, and in some country -districts of Asia Minor at a very early period; it was a natural outcome -of the Christian idea of the pastoral office of the ministry. The Emperor -Justinian[32] had encouraged the system, by a law of 541, which decreed -that a man who should build an oratory and furnish a competent livelihood -for a priest, might present a clerk thereto, by himself and his heirs, and -the bishop finding him worthy should ordain him. To come nearer home, a -Synod of Orleans, in A.D. 541, ordained that, if any one desired to have a -"diocese" on his estate, he should first allot sufficient lands for the -maintenance of the church and of the clerks who should fulfil their -offices there.[33] In Italy parishes were beginning to be founded in the -time of Gregory the Great. From one of his letters it appears that Anio -"Comes Castri Aprutiensis," having built a church in his castellum, -wished to have it consecrated;[34] and the Bishop of Fermo had referred to -Gregory on the question. He allows it to be done on condition that the -count shall provide a proper endowment for a resident priest. His -business-like statement of what the endowment is to consist of, gives a -kind of standard of what, in the circumstances of that time and in the -judgment of a wise and practical bishop, was a proper endowment of a -country parish. It was to consist of a farm with its homestead and a bed, -a yoke of oxen, two cows, and fifteen head of sheep, and the proper -implements of a farm, and four pounds of silver as the working capital. In -another letter Gregory bids Felix, Bishop of Messina, to consecrate a -church built by Subdeacon Januarus in the city, on the condition that it -be properly endowed; and in this case he expressly denies the founder any -rights (_e.g._ of patronage), except admission to Divine service. - -The canons of the Council of Toledo, a little earlier than this, and a -capitulary in 823 of Charlemagne,[35] a little later, show that it was -about this period that country parishes, with their separate endowments -and legal rights, were being founded throughout Europe.[36] Theodore knew -what had been done in the East, and he is said to have encouraged the -great landowners to adopt the system here. We may accept it as highly -probable that we owe to Theodore the diocesan and parochial organization -of the Church of England, which provides a pastor to look after every soul -in his own home, as against the previous system of monastic centres from -which missionaries went forth for occasional ministrations, and to which -the people resorted in their spiritual needs. - -The kings would be likely to set the example. They were accustomed to -divide their time among their principal estates. Aidan's head-quarters -were at Lindisfarne, but he had also a church and chamber at Bamborough, -the chief residence of the Northumbrian kings; and, if we rightly -understand Bede's words,[37] he had a church and chamber at other of the -principal houses, where the king and his court used to live for months -together. It would be natural that the king should provide for the -permanent residence of a priest to serve each of these royal chapels, for -the well-being of the people on the several royal estates; and the -subsequent history of royal free chapels confirms the conjecture that he -did so. The great landowners would be among the first to follow the king's -example; and we find some evidence of it in an incidental notice by -Bede[38] of the consecration by St. John of Beverley (705-718), then -Bishop of Hexham, of a church at South Burton, in Yorkshire, for the -Ealdorman Puch, and another at North Burton, in the same county, for -Addi the Ealdorman. What Puch and Addi were doing on their estates, -probably others of the great Thanes were also doing, though no marvel -occurred at the consecration of these other churches to lead the historian -to mention them. - -[Illustration: House of a Saxon nobleman. The hall in the middle, the -church on the right hand. The nobleman and his wife are distributing alms -to the poor. From Harl. MS. 603.] - -Not only kings and nobles, but the bishops themselves, and the great -monasteries with outlying estates, would naturally make provision for the -religious interests of the people dependent upon them. In the south we -gather from the canons of Clovesho, in 747, that the collegiate and -conventual bodies had erected churches on their outlying estates, and that -the lands of the lay proprietors had been divided into districts by the -bishops, and committed to the care of resident priests. - -A letter written by Bede, the most learned and most revered Churchman of -the time, to Egbert, on his consecration to the See of York, is a very -valuable piece of evidence as to the condition of the Church in the north -at that point of time (734). We learn first that the discipline of the -monasteries had become lax. Many reeves had obtained land under pretext of -founding a monastery, and under that pretext claimed freedom for their -land from state burdens, and called themselves abbots, but were living -with their wives and families, and servants, very much like other lay -folk, and handing down their abbeys as hereditary fees. He says that there -are towns and hamlets in the most inaccessible places which are taxed for -the support of a bishop--an early notice of the general payment of -tithe--but never see one, and are moreover without any resident teacher -or minister--which implies that towns and hamlets in more accessible -places have a resident minister, and are visited by a bishop for -confirmation. The venerable old man gives advice to the youthful prelate -for the mitigation of the evils which he points out. He advises him to -obtain the fulfilment of the original plan of Gregory the Great, viz. the -formation of the churches north of the Humber into a northern province, -with York as the metropolitan see, and to obtain the king's leave to -subdivide the northern dioceses to the number of twelve in all, using some -of the monasteries of whose decadence he complains for the new episcopal -sees; he exhorts him to ordain more priests to preach and administer the -sacraments in every village; and, lastly, he suggests the translation of -the Creed and Our Father out of Latin into English for the instruction of -the people. - -Egbert followed Bede's advice so far as to obtain his recognition as -archbishop of the second province which embraced the country north of the -Humber, with York as its metropolitan see; but he did not procure the -subdivision of the existing dioceses. He did, however, accomplish a great -work by raising the schools of York to such an eminence in learning and -religion that they were famous throughout Europe. The schools of Wessex, -under Aldhelm, rivalled those of Northumbria; the clergy generally could -hardly fail to be influenced by the spirit of these great centres. - -Meantime churches were being built, and rectors of them settled upon the -estates of the landowners. The seventh canon of Graetley, 928, in the -reign of Athelstan, dealing with the question of penance for perjury, -directs that the parish priest, _sacerdos loci illius_, is to certify the -bishop as to the penitent's behaviour; which implies that local priests -were sufficiently widely scattered to keep in view every member of the -small population. - - * * * * * - -The Parish Priest was not merely one who ministered in spiritual things to -those who chose to accept his ministrations, he had ecclesiastical -jurisdiction over a definite territory and over all who dwelt within it. -Just as the jurisdiction of the heptarchic bishops extended over the -kingdoms, so in the parish the jurisdiction of the priest was conterminous -with the estate of the lord or thane who invited the priest to minister to -himself and his people. - -Some of these estates were very extensive, comprising vast tracts of -forest and waste around the cultivated land, and therefore some of the -parishes were of great extent. Probably the parish priest, in addition to -his work in the principal village, would also partially adopt the old -system of itinerant mission work by visiting remote hamlets within his -jurisdiction at certain times for the preaching of the Word and -celebration of Divine worship. It is certain that at a very early period -in the history of parishes the rector was assisted by chaplains in the -maintenance of the frequent services of the mother church and in the -visitation of the people. - -Thus there gradually arose another class of Churches. As population -increased and forest was assarted and waste brought into cultivation, new -centres of population grew up at a distance from the original village. The -Saxon laws encouraged the enterprise of the people by assigning to them a -higher rank in proportion to their possessions,[39] which involved not -only social dignity but also legal privileges; a law of Athelstan enacted -that "if a 'ceorl' throve so that he had fully four hides of his own land, -church and kitchen, 'bur geat settl,' and special service in the king's -hall ('sunder note' or 'sundor note') then was he thenceforth of -thane-right worthy."[40] - -It is in the nature of things that many of these successful ceorls would -be energetic and enterprising men who had looked out a tract of good soil -in some neighbouring dale or amidst the surrounding waste, and brought it -under cultivation, and created what was virtually a new township. The -occasional visits of the parish priest or his chaplain would hardly -satisfy the inhabitants of the new settlement for long. The new -proprietor, in imitation of his betters, would be ambitious of having a -church on his ground, and the law of Athelstan encouraged his laudable -ambition. But the customary jurisdiction and revenues of the mother -Church extending over the whole district were jealously guarded against -encroachment on the part of these new foundations. A "canon of Edgar" -enacts (1) that tithe be paid to the Old Minster to which the district -belongs; (2) if a thane has on his boc-land a church at which there is not -a burial-place, then of the nine parts let him give to his priest what he -will; and let every church scot and plough-alms go to the Old Minster. A -later law of King Canute enacts that if a thane has erected on his own -boc-land (freehold or charter land) a church having a legerstowe--a -burial-place--he may subtract one-third part of his tithes from the mother -Church, and bestow them upon his own clerk.[41] - -[Illustration: Saxon Church of timber, at Greenstead, Essex.] - -A law of Canute incidentally describes four different classes of churches -which, "though divinely they have like consecration," hold a different -rank and have a different penalty attached to the violation of their -right of sanctuary. The classes are called: (1) the heafod mynster, chief -minster; (2) the medemra mynster, translated _ecclesia mediocris_; (3) the -lssa mynster, translated _ecclesia minor_; (4) the feld-cirice, literally -field-church, where there was no burial-place. These are probably (1) -cathedral or mother churches; (2) churches of ancient date with wide -jurisdiction; (3) smaller parish churches; (4) district or mission -chapels. - -[Illustration: West end of Greenstead Church, Essex.] - -The continual increase of the population and the consequent bringing of -more land into cultivation, and the gathering of this population upon the -newly cultivated lands, caused the constant growth of new lordships or -townships, or, in later times, manors, and the constant building of new -churches to supply their spiritual wants. The jurisdiction and rights of -the mother Church had to be dealt with in all these cases; but in many -cases, by agreement with the mother Church, or by the assumption of a lord -of the land too powerful for its priest to withstand, or by long usage, -many of these new churches acquired the status of independent parishes; -and at length, in the time of Edward the Confessor, the legal status of -parish churches was given to all which by ancient custom had the right of -administration of baptism, marriage, and burial. - -The Domesday Survey gives, so far as it deals with the matter, a view of -the condition of the Church and clergy at the close of the Saxon -period--_tempore regis Edwardi_. It is to be borne in mind that its object -was not to make a complete terrier and census of the kingdom, but to -ascertain the rights and revenues due to the Crown. The commissioners who -made the survey in the different counties took somewhat different lines in -making their returns, particularly in those details which are of special -interest in the present inquiry. In most of the counties churches and -clergy seem to be named only where they were liable to some payment to the -Crown. In some counties all the churches seem to be named; in others all -the presbyters; in others there is no mention of one or the other. Thus, -in Lincolnshire 222 churches are named, in Norfolk 243, in Suffolk, 364; -in Leicestershire 41 presbyters, in Rochester diocese about 65,[42] in -Sussex 42, of which seven are described as _ecclesiol_ chapels. In the -returns for the counties of Cambridge, Middlesex, Lancaster, and Cornwall, -neither church nor presbyter occurs. In the whole there are only 1700 -churches named. But there seems no reason why Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and -Suffolk should have had a larger proportion of churches to population at -that time than the other counties; and if the other counties were -proportionately subdivided into parishes and equipped with churches, we -arrive at the conclusion that there were nearly as many churches -(including chapels) and clergy before the Norman Conquest, when the -population was about two millions, as there were at the beginning of the -nineteenth century, when the population had increased to nearly nine -millions. - -[Illustration: Saxon tower, Sompting Church, Sussex.] - -From the same source we learn that the usual quantity of land assigned to -a church was from five to fifty acres; in some cases the glebe was larger. -Bosham, in Sussex, was one of the largest; in the time of Edward the -Confessor it had 112 hides. Barsham, in Norfolk, had 100 acres; -Berchingas, in Suffolk, 83; Wellingrove, in Lincolnshire, 129 acres of -meadow and 14 of other land. - -The private origin of ecclesiastical benefices, together with the feudal -ideas of the tenure of property, produced in the minds of the owners of -advowsons a certain sense of property in the benefices which shows itself -in various ways: in the bargaining with the presentee for some advantage -to the lord, as a present, or a pension, or the tenancy of part of the -land. - -The advowson descended with the manor, and was often subdivided among the -heirs.[43] In later times we not infrequently find a rectory held in -medieties, but in Domesday Book we find a benefice divided into any number -of fractions up to one-twelfth.[44] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE SAXON CLERGY. - - -The sources from which we obtain the fullest details of the religious life -of the Saxon priests and people are the laws of their kings and the canons -of their synods; and perhaps the most convenient way of presenting the -information which these contain will be partly to give a series of -quotations from them in chronological order, with such explanations as may -seem necessary; partly to group them according to their subject; using one -method or the other as may seem best to serve our purpose. - -Of the earlier part of the period three codes of law have come down to -us--that of Ethelbert of Kent, between 597 and 604; of Ine King of the -West Saxons, probably 690; and of Wihtred of Kent, 696. We must bear in -mind that the bishops and chief clergy of the kingdom were present at the -Witan of the Saxon kings, as well as the chiefs and wise men; and that the -kings and chief laymen were often present at the ecclesiastical synods; -so that both laws and canons express the mind of the whole people. - -The laws of Ethelbert are the earliest written code of the English race. -They begin with the enactment, "If the property of God (_i.e._ of the -Church) be stolen, twelve-fold compensation shall be made; for a bishop's -property, eleven-fold; a priest's, nine-fold; a deacon's, six-fold; a -clerk's, three-fold; church frith, two-fold; minster frith, two-fold." A -law of Earconbert of Kent (640) commanded the destruction of the temples -and idols in that kingdom. - -The laws of Ine, King of the West Saxons (688-725), are said in the -preamble to be made "by the consent and advice of Ceadwalla, his father, -and of Heddi, his bishop, and of Earconwald, his bishop, and with all his -ealdormen, and the distinguished Witan of his people, and also with a -large assembly of God's servants (the clergy)." The first of his laws is -(1) that God's servants rightly hold their lawful rule. Then it goes on to -enact (2) that children be baptized within thirty days, under a penalty of -30_s._, and if one die unbaptized the father shall make bt[45] for it -with all that he has. Then come enactments (3, 4, 5), against doing any -work on the Sunday, on the payments to be made to the clergy, and on the -privilege of sanctuary, which will be more conveniently grouped with -similar enactments later on; (6) if a man fight in a king's house he shall -forfeit all his property; if in a minster, he shall make bt of 120_s._; -(7) if a man before a bishop belie his testimony he shall forfeit 120_s._; -(61) church scot shall be paid according to where a man's roof and hearth -are at midwinter; (76) inflicts a special fine for slaying a godson or -godfather--if it be a bishop's son,[46] it is to be half the amount. - -The preamble to the laws of Wihtred of Kent, in 696, states that they were -made at "a deliberative convention of the great men," the Archbishop -Birhtwald and Bishop Gebmund of Rochester being present, "and every degree -of the Church of that province spoke in unison with the obedient people." -The first law (1) gives the Church freedom in jurisdiction and revenue; -(6) a priest guilty of misconduct or negligence to be suspended till the -doom of the bishop; (9, 10, 11) on the observance of Sunday, are the same -as in the laws of King Ine, quoted p. 79; (12, 13) seek to suppress the -old heathenism by imposing on a man forfeiture of all his substance for -making offerings to devils, and the same on his wife if she shared in his -offence; a theowe for the same offence is to forfeit 6_s._ or "pay with -his skin;"[47] (14, 15) impose penalties for not abstaining from flesh on -fasting days; (16, 17) relate to the value of the oaths of various classes -of people, and are dealt with at p. 77. One of the most important laws of -Wihtred is that which is called "the privilege of Wihtred," given at a -Witan held at Bapchild, attended by the king and nobles, as well as by the -two bishops and clergy, which released the lands of monasteries from gabel -or land-tax, and obliged the tenants only to attend the king in war and to -pay burgh bt and brig bt, _i.e._ payments levied for the repair of -town-walls and bridges. This privilege was confirmed in the first year of -King Ethelbald of Mercia at the Council of Clovesho (716). It was granted -by other Saxon kings also in their charters. - - * * * * * - -The decrees of a council at Clovesho, in 747, require a few words of -preface. In 745 Boniface, "the Apostle of Germany," had presided at a -synod of Frank bishops, at Augsburg,[48] which had made canons for the -reform of abuses, and had formally accepted the supremacy of Rome. -Boniface sent a copy of these canons to his friend Cuthbert, Archbishop of -Canterbury, clearly wishing him to take like measures. - -The first canon of this Synod enacted that metropolitans should be obliged -to apply to Rome for their pall, and obey the orders of St. Peter in -everything according to the canons. Another canon to the same end decreed -that if the people refuse to submit to the discipline of the Church, the -bishops shall appeal to the archbishop of the province, and the archbishop -to the Pope. - -Two years afterwards Zacharias, Bishop of Rome, sent letters by the hands -of two legates "to the English inhabitants of Britain," in which he -admonishes them to reform their lives, and holds out threats of -excommunication against those who neglect to do so.[49] - -The Pope's action was clearly intended to induce the English Church to -imitate the submission of the Frankish Church. A synod was assembled at -Clovesho, A.D. 747, attended by twelve English bishops of the dioceses -south of the Humber and a number of their clergy, and by Ethelbald, King -of the Mercians, who was over lord of all the English kingdoms south of -the Humber. The Pope's letter was read in Latin and English, and then the -synod proceeded to draw up a number of canons. - -[Illustration: A Saxon bishop and priest. (From Cotton MS., Claudius, B. -iv.)] - -The omissions, compared with the canons of the German Council, are the -most important part of the document. The first canon decreed that every -bishop should be careful to support his character (_i.e._ his status as a -bishop), execute every part of his office, and maintain the canons and -constitutions of the Church against encroachment; and the second that the -bishops and clergy should be careful to keep a good correspondence with -each other, without any flattering applications to any person, considering -that they are the servants of one master, and entrusted with the same -commission; and, therefore, though they are divided by distance of place -and country, they ought to be united by affection and pray for each other -that every one may discharge his office with integrity and conscience. -Then there follow disciplinary canons: (3) that the clergy should call -together the people of all ranks and degrees in each place, preach to them -the word of God, and forbid them to follow the heathen customs; (2) that -the bishops should visit their dioceses every year; (4, 5, and 7) relate -to monasteries; (6) bishops not to ordain priests without examination as -to learning and morals; (8) priests to abstract themselves from worldly -affairs and give themselves to reading, prayer, etc.; (9) to preach, -baptize, and inspect the morals of the people in those precincts and -districts assigned to them by their bishops--which implies the existence -of subdivisions of dioceses into various jurisdictions, and the existence -of parishes; (10) priests to be thoroughly acquainted with the doctrines -and services of the church, to teach the Creed and Lord's Prayer, and -explain the sacraments; (11) to be uniform in their preaching and -ministration; (12) regulates church music and ceremonies, canons not to -intrude upon things which belong to the bishop; (13, 14, 15, 16, 18) on -the observance of Sundays, holy days, the seven hours of prayer, -rogations, and ember days; (17) appoints that the days on which St. -Gregory and St. Augustine died shall be kept as holy days, and their names -be included in the litanies. - -Canons (21) and (22) enjoin on the clergy sobriety and propriety of -conduct, and ever-fitness for celebration and reception of Holy Communion. -(26) enjoins the bishops to convene their clergy and abbots, and -communicate to them the decisions of the council, and command their -observance; and if there is any disorder too strong for the bishop's -correction, he is to report it to the archbishop at the next meeting of -the synod--but not a word of a reference beyond him to the Pope. (27) is -on the singing of the psalms with recollection and pious dispositions and -posture of respect, and of prayers--and among them of prayers for the -departed;[50] and those who do not understand Latin are to pray in the -vulgar tongue. - -(26) and (27) are specially notable as directed against what seem to have -been growing errors; they explain that alms are not to be given to commute -penance and dispense with the discipline of the Church, and so procure a -liberty of sinning; that those who think that God can be bribed thus, make -their alms useless to them, and add to their guilt. Also that it is folly -and presumption to think that a man condemned to penance may procure -others to fast, say psalms, and distribute charity on his behalf; that if -a man may thus buy his punishment and get others to repent for him, a rich -man would be sure of salvation, and only the poor be in danger. The last -canon enjoins that kings and princes and the whole body of the people be -publicly prayed for in church.[51] - -It is to be observed that the Northumbrian king was not present with his -nobles and bishops at this synod; for eleven years previously (in 736) the -Bishop of York had obtained the dignity of an archbishop with the -Northumbrian churches as his province. The Papal legates visited the -north, but we have no account of their doings there. - - * * * * * - -The laws of King Alfred are prefaced by a recapitulation of the early -history of the Church, and recite the decree of the apostles at the Synod -of Jerusalem. Then the king goes on to say that many synods were assembled -in the old times, among the English race, after they had received the -Faith of Christ, and ordained a "tort" for many misdeeds. Out of those -laws which he had met with, either of the days of Ine his kinsman, of -Offa, King of the Mercians, or of Ethelbryht who first among the English -race received baptism, the things which seemed to him most right he had -gathered together and rejected others. He had then showed them to the -witan, and they declared that it seemed good to them all that they should -be observed. We conclude that the codes of Ethelbert, Ine, and Offa (which -last has not come down to us) were the principal codes then known. We -select several of the laws of Alfred which deal with new matter. - -1. If a man pledge himself and break his pledge, he is to surrender his -weapons and goods to the keeping of his friends, and be in prison forty -days in a bishop's town, and suffer there whatever the bishop may -prescribe; his friends to find him food; if he have none, then the king's -reeve to do it; if he escape, to be excommunicated of all Christ's -churches. If a man seek a church and confess an offence not before known, -let it be half forgiven--_i.e._ let him pay half the penalty. - -One of the laws agreed upon between King Alfred and Guthrum was, if any -man wrong an ecclesiastic or a foreigner as to money or life, the king or -earl and the bishop shall be to the injured in the place of kinsman and -protector. - -Among the laws of Athelstan (925-940), (3) directs that there be sung, -every Friday at every monastery, a fifty (of psalms) for the king, and for -all who will what he wills, and for others as they may merit; (7) -describes the ordeal by fire and by water.[52] - -Among the laws of King Edmund (940-946) made at the Synod of London, -"Odda, archbishop, and Wulfstan, archbishop, and many other bishops being -present," it was ordered (1) that those in holy orders who have to teach -God's people by their life's example keep their chastity according to -their degree; (5) that every bishop repair the houses of God in his -[district (?)], and also remind the king that all God's churches be well -conditioned. - - * * * * * - -The "Canons of Edgar" (A.D. 959-975)[53] were made under the reforming -influence of Archbishop Dunstan, and were intended as a standard of life -and duty for the clergy. They begin with the recognition, which is -amplified and emphasized in the laws of subsequent reigns, that the great -duty which the order of the clergy perform in the service of the nation is -to celebrate the worship of Almighty God, and offer up prayers on behalf -of the king and people. We give the substance of the canons as briefly as -possible, but without any material omission, so that the reader may feel -assured that he has the whole body of the legislation before him. - -They decree that the ministers of God devoutly serve and minister to God, -and intercede for all Christian folk; be faithful and obedient to their -seniors (bishops, abbots, etc.); ready to help others, both Godward and -manward; and be to their earthly lords true and faithful; that they honour -one another, the juniors diligently hearing and loving their seniors, and -the seniors diligently teaching the juniors. - -That every one come to the synod yearly, attended by his clerk, and an -orderly man as his servant; that he bring his books and vestments,[54] and -ink and parchment for the constitutions;[55] and food for three days. That -the priest report to the synod if any one has done him any serious injury, -and that all should regard it as done to themselves, and obtain -compensation according as the bishop shall determine. He shall also report -if any one in his parish lives openly against God, or has done mortal -sin, whom he cannot move to amendment, or dare not for fear. - -That no dispute between priests shall be brought before secular judges, -but reconciled by their fellows or referred to the bishop; no priest shall -desert the church to which he was ordained, but hold to it as his lawful -spouse. That he do not deprive another of anything which belongs to him -either in his church or parish or gildship; he shall not take another's -scholar without his leave; that in addition to lore, he diligently learn a -handicraft; that the learned priest do not throw scorn on the half -learned, but correct him; that the well-born priest do not despise the -low-born, for if he will consider all men are of one birth; that he -administer baptism as soon as asked, and bid every one to bring his -children to be baptized within thirty-seven days[56] of their birth and -not defer too long to have them confirmed by the bishop. - -That he diligently promote Christianity, and banish heathenism, and forbid -well-worship, necromancy, augury, man-worship, incantations, and many -things which they practise with various spells, and "frithsplottum,"[57] -and wich-elms and various trees and stones, and other phantasms by which -many are deceived, and that devil's craft whereby children are drawn -through the earth, and the merriment that men make on the night of the -year (New Year's Eve). - -That every Christian diligently train his child and teach him the -Paternoster and Credo;[58] that on festivals men abstain from profane -songs and devil's games, and on Sundays from trading and folk motes; that -men cease from lies and foolish talking and blasphemy; and from -concubinage, and have lawful wives; that every man learn the Paternoster -and Credo if he desire to lie in holy ground [at his burial], and be -considered housel-worthy [fit to receive Holy Communion], because he is -not a good Christian who is not willing to learn these, nor may rightly be -a sponsor at baptism nor at confirmation; that there be no contentions on -festival or fasting days, nor oaths, nor ordeals. - -That the priests keep the churches with all reverence for the Divine -ministry and pure worship, and for nothing else; nor do anything -unbecoming there nor in the vicinity; nor allow idle talking, idle deeds, -unbecoming drinkings, nor any other idle practices; nor allow dogs in the -churchyard, nor more swine than a man is able to manage [or no dog nor -swine so far as a man can prevent it], that nothing unbecoming be placed -in the church; that at the church-wake men keep sober and pray diligently, -nor practise drinking, nor anything else unbecoming; that no one be buried -in church unless he was known when living to be so well pleasing to God as -to be worthy of it. - -That the priest do not celebrate the Eucharist in any house, but only in -the church, except in case of extreme sickness, and do not consecrate -except upon a consecrated altar,[59] and not without book and the canon of -the mass before his eyes, that he make no mistakes, and that he have a -corporal when he celebrates, and a _subuculum_[60] under his albe, and all -necessary things rightly appointed, and have a good and correct book, and -not without some one to make the responses; that every one receive fasting -except in case of extreme sickness; that the priest reserve the host ready -for any that need; that he celebrate with pure wine and pure water; that -no priest celebrate mass without partaking, or hallow it unless he is -holy. That the chalice be of molten material, never of wood; that all -things which approach the altar or belong to the church be purely and -worthily appointed, and that there be always lights in the church at mass; -that there be no negligence about anything consecrated, holy water, salt, -incense, bread, nor anything holy; that no woman come near the altar while -the priest celebrates. - -That at the right times the bell be rung, and the priest say his hours in -church, or there pray and intercede for all men.[61] That no priest come -into the church or into his stall without his upper garment, or minister -without his vestment. That no man in orders conceal his tonsure, or leave -it badly shaven, or wear his beard long; that priests be not ignorant of -fasts or festivals, lest they lead the people wrong.[62] - -That every one accompany his fasts with almsgiving; that "priests in -ecclesiastical ministries be all on one equality, and in a year's space, -be like-worthy in all ecclesiastical ministries;"[63] that they diligently -teach the young handicrafts, that the Church may be helped thereby. - -That priests preach every Sunday, and well explain. That no Christian eat -blood of any kind. That they teach the people to pay their dues to God, -plough-alms fifteen days after Easter, the tithe of young at Pentecost, -fruits of the earth at All Saints, Peter's penny on St. Peter's day, and -church scot at Martinmas. That priests so distribute people's alms as to -please God, and dispose the people to almsgiving; they shall sing psalms -when they distribute alms, and bid the poor pray for the people. That -priests avoid drunkenness, and warn the people against it; that they -eschew unbecoming occupations, as ale-scop or glee man, but behave -discreetly and worthily; abstain from oaths and forbid them; not consort -too much with women, but love their own spouse, that is, their church; not -bear false witness, or be the confidant of thieves; that the priest have -not to do with ordeals or oaths, or be compurgator with a thane, unless -the thane take the first oath; be not a hunter, or hawker, or dicer, but -occupy himself with his books, as becomes his order. - -That every priest hear confession and give penance, and carry the -Eucharist to the sick, and anoint him if he desire it, and after death not -allow any idle customs about the body, but bury it decently in the fear of -God. That every priest have oil for baptism, and also for anointing the -sick. Let him promote Christianity in every way, as well by preaching as -by good example, and he shall be rewarded by God Almighty; and let him -remember when he fetches the chrism [at the yearly synod] to say the -prayers for the king and the bishop. - - * * * * * - -The laws of King Ethelred (979-1016), made with the counsel of both the -ecclesiastical and lay witan, are conceived in a very Christian spirit, -and expressed with considerable eloquence. We think it worth while to give -in full some of them which relate to the general desire of the authorities -in Church and State to promote religion. (1) This, then, is first, that we -all love and worship one God, and zealously hold one Christianity, and -every heathenship totally cast out, that every man be regarded as entitled -to right, and peace and friendship be lawfully observed. (2) That -Christian men and uncondemned be not sold out of the country, and -especially into a heathen nation, that those souls perish not that Christ -bought with His own life. (3) That Christian men be not condemned to death -for all too little, and in general let light punishments be decreed, and -let not for a little God's handiwork and His own purchase which He dearly -bought be destroyed. (4) That every man of every order readily submit to -the law which belongs to him; above all, let the servants of God, bishops -and abbots, monks and mynchens, priests and nuns,[64] live according to -their rule, and fervently intercede for all Christian people. (5, 6) Monks -are not to live out of minster, but to observe specially three things: -their chastity and monkish customs, and the service of the Lord. (7) -Canons, where their benefice is, so that they have a refectory and -dormitory, are to keep their minster rightly; and mass-priests to keep -themselves from the anger of God. (9) Full well they know that they have -not rightly, through concubinage, intercourse with women; he who will -abstain from this and serve God rightly, shall be worthy of thane-wer, and -thane-right both in life and in the grave; he who will not, let his honour -wane before God and before the world. (10) Let every church be in grith -(protection) of God and the king, and of all Christian people; let no man -henceforth reduce a church to servitude, nor unlawfully make -church-mongering, nor turn out a church minister without the bishop's -counsel. (11) God's dues are to be willingly paid, plough-alms, tithe of -young, earth fruits, Rome fee, and light scot thrice a year,[65] and soul -scot at the open grave, or, if buried elsewhere, to be paid to the minster -to which it belongs. (13-19) Sundays and holy days are defined as in -previous laws, and at those holy tides let there be to all men peace and -concord, and be every strife appeased. (22) Let every Christian man -strictly keep his Christianity, and go frequently to shrift and housel. -(23) Let every injustice and wrong-doing be carefully cast out of the -country, and (26) God's laws be zealously loved by word and deed, then -will God soon be merciful to this nation.[66] Lastly (34), it is the duty -of us all to love and worship one God and strictly hold one Christianity, -and totally cast out every kind of heathenism; and (35) let us faithfully -support one royal lord, and all defend life and land together as best we -may, and to God Almighty pray with inward heart. - - * * * * * - -The canons which go under the name of Elfric, and are of the end of the -tenth century, add a little to the knowledge we have already gleaned. The -10th canon gives a list of the seven orders of the clergy under the degree -of bishop, viz. ostiarius, lector, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon, -and priest, and defines their several offices. (17) reckons a priest and a -bishop to be of the same order. (19) requires the priests and inferior -clergy to be at church at the seven canonical hours: _Uhtsang_ (Prime) -about 4 a.m., _Primsang_ (Matins) 6 a.m., _Undersang_ (Terce) at 9, -_Middaysang_ (Sext) at noon, _Nonsang_ (Nones) at 3 p.m., _fensang_ -(Vespers), and _Nightsang_ (Nocturns). (21) Every priest before ordination -to be furnished with correct copies of the Psalter, Book of Epistles and -Gospels, Missal, Hymnary, Penitential, and Lectionary. (23) The parish -priest, every Sunday and holy day, is to explain to the people in English -the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Gospel for the day. (25) Not to -celebrate in a house except one be sick. (27) No priest is to take money -for baptism or other office. (28) Priests are not to remove from one -parish to another for the sake of advantage, but to remain in the cure to -which they were ordained. (29) Not to turn merchant, soldier, or lawyer. -(30) To have always two oils, one for children, the other for the sick. -(33) Orders the canons of the first four councils to be regarded like the -four Gospels; "there have been many councils held in later ages, but these -four are of the greatest authority." (36) "The housel is Christ's body, -not bodily but spiritually, not the body in which He suffered, but the -body about which He spake, when He blessed bread and wine for housel.... -Understand now that the Lord who could before His passion change the bread -to His body and the wine to His blood spiritually, that the same daily -blesses, by the hands of His priests, the bread and wine to His spiritual -body and blood." - - * * * * * - -An important feature in the administration of criminal law was the -recognition of the right of _Sanctuary_ to the house of the king and the -churches, which had probably been introduced from the imperial law by the -influence of the missionaries. The laws of Ine recognize the right of -sanctuary to a church; a murderer taking sanctuary is to have his life -but to make bt, according to law, a theowe who has incurred scourging -shall be excused the penalty. - -The laws of Alfred allow three days' sanctuary in the "mynsterham," which -is free from the king's farm, or any other free community, with a bt of -120_s._ for its violation, to be paid to the brotherhood; and seven days -in every church hallowed by the bishop, with the penalty of the king's -"mund and byrd" and the church's "frith" for its violation. The Church -ealdor is to take care that no one give food to the refugee. If he be -willing to give up his weapons to his foes, then let them keep him thirty -days, and give notice to his kinsmen (that they may arrange the legal -bt[67]). King Athelstan's laws further modify the right of sanctuary; a -thief or robber fleeing to the king or to any church, or to the bishop, is -to have a term of nine days; if he flee to an ealdorman, or an abbot, or a -thane, three days; and he who harbours him longer is to be worthy of the -same penalty as the thief. The king's grith (protection) is to extend from -his burhgate where he is dwelling, on its four sides three miles three -furlongs and three acres breadth, and nine feet nine palms and nine -barley-corns. A law of Canute already quoted (p. 53) assigns different -values of grith (protection) to the different kinds of churches, the grith -bryce (penalty for violation of grith) of a chief minster is 5; of a -minster of the middle class, 120_s._, and of one yet less where there is a -small parish (lytel eoom, in the laws of Henry I.), provided there be a -burial-place, 60_s._, and of a field-church, where there is no -burial-place, 30_s._ - -Akin to this privilege of sanctuary is the penalty for acts of violence in -certain places and before certain persons. By the laws of King Ine, if any -man fight in a king's house he shall forfeit all his property; if in a -minster, make bt of 120_s._ By the laws of King Alfred, if a man fight or -draw his weapon before an archbishop he shall make bt of 150_s._; if -before a bishop or an ealdorman, 100_s._ The laws of Alfred enact that if -any man steal from a church he shall restore it and lose his hand, or -redeem his hand at the amount of his "wergild;" it is to be remembered -that churches were used as places of deposit for valuables, and the law -probably is intended to protect these as well as the movables belonging to -the church itself. - -The laws of Wihtred of Kent make the word of a king or a bishop -incontrovertible without an oath; a priest, like a king's thane, is to -clear himself with his own oath at the altar; he is to stand before the -altar in his vestments, and laying his hand upon the altar, to say, -"_Veritatem dico in Christo, non mentior_;"[68] the superior of a -monastery is to make oath like a priest; a clerk, like a "ceorlish man," -to make like oath at the altar, but to have four compurgators. The rank of -a priest as equal to that of a thane is frequently recognized.[69] The -laws of Ine (15 and 19), make the oath of a man who is a communicant worth -twice as much as that of a man who is not. - -It is convenient to gather into one view what the laws say about the -_Tithe and other Payments_ which the people made to the church. The laws -did not then for the first time enact these payments. The first -missionaries had no doubt taught the people that it was the duty of -Christian men to maintain the church and the clergy by tithes and -offerings. If the assertion be true that the people had been accustomed to -pay tithe to their heathen priests, and there is evidence in favour of the -probability, then it came the easier to them.[70] The kings and their -witans, in this as in many other matters, recognized and gave the sanction -of law to existing custom. The payment of tithe was recognized as -obligatory in the Legatine Council of Cealchythe in 785, which being -attended and confirmed by the Kings of Kent, Mercia, Wessex, and -Northumbria, and their ealdormen, had the authority of a Witenagemot, just -at the time that similar measures were being taken in the Frank dominions. -From that time the payment was frequently mentioned in the laws. The laws -of King Alfred define the tithe as of "moving and growing things." The -laws of King Edmund enact that every man pay tithe, church scot, Rome fee, -and plough-alms on pain of excommunication. The laws of Edgar define to -whom the payment shall be made, viz. to the old minster to which the -district belongs; a thane who has a church at which there is a -burial-place, may pay a third of his tithe to his own priest; if the -thane's church is without a burial-place, he is to pay his tithe to the -minster, and church scot and plough-alms are also to be paid to the -minster, and the thane may pay to his priest what he will. They also -recite the times at which these payments are to be made on penalty of the -full "wite" (fine to the king) which the Doom-book specifies. They also -prescribe a process for the recovery of tithe; the king's reeve and the -bishop's reeve, with the priest of the minster to whom it is due, are to -take the tithe by force, and the rest is to be forfeited half to the king -and half to the bishop, whether the defaulter be a king's man or a -thane's. The payment of the "hearth penny" (St. Peter's penny) is to be -enforced by a very curious process: the defaulter is to be taken to -Rome--perhaps it means to the house of the pope's agent, for the -collection of Peter pence--and, in addition to what is due, is to pay -30_d._, and bring a certificate of the payment, and then is to forfeit -120_s._ to the king; if he refuse, he is to be taken again to Rome, and on -his return to forfeit 200_s._; and if he still refuse, he is to forfeit -all that he has. The severity of the enactment suggests the question -whether there was at that time on the part of some persons a special -unwillingness to pay the "penny of St. Peter." - - * * * * * - -The _religious observance of Sunday_ was the subject of frequent -enactments. The third of the laws of Ine enacts that if a theow work on -Sunday by his lord's command, the theow shall be exempt from penalty, but -his lord shall pay 30_s._; if the theow work of his own accord (since he -has no money), he shall "pay with his skin," _i.e._ shall be scourged. If -a free man work on that day without his lord's command, he shall forfeit -his freedom or pay 60_s._; a priest offending shall be liable to a double -penalty. The laws of Wihtred of Kent contain enactments to the same -effect. The laws of Alfred encourage the observance of other holy days by -the enactment that "to all free men these days be given" (_i.e._ free men -are not to be required by their lords to work on these days): twelve days -at the Nativity, Good Friday--"the day on which Christ conquered the -devil," St. Gregory's day, seven days before Easter and seven days after, -St. Peter's day and St. Paul's day, in autumn a full week before the -festival of St. Brice (Nov. 13), one day before All Saints, and the four -Wednesdays in the four fasting (Ember) weeks. The law does not free -theowes from work on these days, but suggests to their masters to give -them, in God's name, such relaxation from work on such of these days as -they shall deserve. The laws of Edgar define that Sunday is to be kept -from noontide of Saturday till dawn of Monday. At the Council of Eynsham -(1009), it was further enjoined that there be no markets or folk motes -(the laws of Canute also forbid hunting) on Sundays; that all St. Mary's -feast tides be honoured with those of every apostle, and Fridays be kept -as a fast. Festivals of English saints were from time to time added to the -Kalendar. We have seen that the Council of Clovesho (747), decreed the -observance of days in honour of St. Gregory and St. Augustine. In the -decrees of the Council of Enysham we find: "The witan have chosen that St. -Edward's mass day shall be celebrated all over England on the XV. Kal. -Apr." (March 18). The laws of Canute repeat the obligation of the previous -holy days, and after mention of the witan's appointment of a festival of -St. Edward, add a festival of St. Dunstan on XIV. Kal. Junias (May 19). - - * * * * * - -_Slavery_ was a recognized institution of the society of those times. The -class of "theowmen" was probably made up partly of conquered Britons and -their descendants, partly of captives taken in the mutual wars of the -heptarchic kingdoms, partly of freemen who had been condemned to this -penalty for their crimes or incurred it by poverty. A prominent feature of -the influence of Christianity was the encouragement it gave to masters to -treat their theowes with kindness, and its success in promoting their -manumission as an action well-pleasing to God. Several of the codes of law -deal with the subject. We have seen already how the legislation on the -observance of Sundays and holy days did not go so far as to interfere with -the right of the masters, but did invite them, for the love of God, to -give their theowes some relaxation of labour on the great festivals of the -Church. A law of Wihtred, King of Kent, defines that if any one give -freedom to his man at the altar, he shall be folk-free, though it retains -to the freedom-giver the heritage and wergild and mund of his family. A -law of Ine enacts that he who sells over sea his own countryman, bond or -free, though he be guilty, shall pay according to his wer. - -A law of Alfred enacts that if any man buy a Christian slave, he shall -serve for six years, and on the seventh he shall go out as he came in, -with the same clothes, etc.; if he came in with a wife he shall go out -with her, but if the lord have given him a wife, she and her children -shall still belong to the lord. A law of Ethelred (978-1016) enacts that a -slave (uncondemned) shall not be sold out of the country. - -The Church set the example of the manumission of its slaves.[71] At the -Council of Cealchithe (816) it was unanimously agreed that each prelate at -his death should bequeath one-tenth of his personal property to the poor, -and set at liberty all bondsmen of English descent whom his Church had -acquired during his administration, and that each bishop and abbot who -survived him should manumit three of his slaves, and give 3_s._ to each. -The laity followed the example. In the English wills published by -Thorpe[72] a considerable number occur in which the testator gives freedom -to serfs, _e.g._ Queen thelfld sets free half of her men in every vill; -Wynfld gives a long list of serfs by name who are to be freed, and the -freedom of penal serfs is given in nine other wills. - -Still the institution continued. At the end of the Saxon period, a -thriving trade in the export of English slaves was carried on at Bristol, -till Bishop Wulstan put an end to it. The Twenty-ninth Canon of the Synod -of Westminster, held under Anselm in 1102, enacted that there should be no -buying and selling of men in England as heretofore, as if they were kine -or oxen. But this did not put a stop to it. Slaves were bought and sold by -Church dignitaries as late as the fourteenth century, as we shall see in a -later chapter, and the status of serfdom continued to the sixteenth -century. - -[Illustration: Coronation of Harold by Archbishop Stigand. Bayeux -tapestry.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE NORMAN CONQUEST. - - -One immediate result of the Norman conquest was that Archbishop Stigand -and several other bishops and abbots were ejected, and foreign -ecclesiastics put in their place. It is not necessary to suppose that -William acted solely on the desire to put men devoted to his interests -into these positions of power and influence, for Edward the Confessor had -already appointed some foreign bishops with the object of raising the tone -of learning and religion in the English Church; and all William's nominees -were men of character, learning and practical ability. The removal of some -of the sees from unimportant villages to the principal town of the diocese -was a wise measure. It is said that some of the Norman bishops desired to -make the further improvement of replacing the monks, where they existed, -in their cathedrals, by canons, but were thwarted by Lanfranc.[73] - -The parochial clergy seem to have been left undisturbed in their -benefices; only, as the benefices fell vacant in the usual course of -things, the new Norman lords of the manor, who had in so many cases -supplanted the old Saxon thanes, not unnaturally appointed relatives or -countrymen of their own to at least the more valuable of the parochial -benefices in their gift. - -The Norman conquest of England opened up this country more fully to the -influence of the political and religious life of the Continent. The -patriarchal authority of the Roman see had long since been acknowledged by -the Saxon Church, but hitherto had very rarely intervened and as seldom -been appealed to; henceforward it was to become a much more important -factor both in the political and ecclesiastical life of this country. The -foreign bishops appointed by Edward the Confessor and William, and the -foreign parsons introduced by the new lords into their parishes, brought -with them the Hildebrandine theories of the relations of the Pope to the -Church and to the State. William sought to limit the exercise of the Papal -authority in his new kingdom by a decree that the Pope should send no -legates and no bulls without the consent of the Crown, and that his own -subjects should make no appeal to Rome without the Crown's permission. -But, in fact, a considerable change gradually took place in the practical -relations of the English Church to the Roman see. The Saxon Church had -been isolated, the bishops and clergy had been eminently a national -clergy, with practically no one above them and no one between them and -their flocks. The appearance of two legates at the synod of Winchester -(1070), which deprived Stigand the archbishop, and, by consequence, -several bishops of his consecration, was the beginning of a series of very -important interventions of the Pope for good and for evil, which, together -with the multiplication of appeals to Rome, modified very much the -previous practically autonomous condition of the English Church. Another -important change was made by the separation of the civil and -ecclesiastical Courts determined upon by William "in the common council, -and by the advice of all the bishops and abbots, and all the princes of -his kingdom." It abrogated the old Saxon custom set forth in the laws of -Canute (1016-1035),[74] that the bishop should sit with the sheriff in the -shire mote, and assist in the administration of justice and the -determination of causes; and enacted that, for the future, civil causes -should be determined by the secular judge; while, on the other hand, no -lay judge should interfere in the laws which belong to the bishop, or in -any causes which belong to the cure of souls. The results went further -than perhaps William had foreseen. One result was the setting up of -independent courts of ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all clerical -persons, down to the lowest of the men in minor orders, and in all -religious cases, including matrimonial and testamentary causes and -questions of oaths. This made the whole body of the clergy a privileged -class under a law and judges of their own, and this privilege the Church -maintained successfully against the endeavour of Henry II. to bring the -clergy under the jurisdiction of the King's Courts, and continued down to -the "submission of the clergy" in the reign of Henry VIII. With this brief -general review of the constitutional changes effected at the time of the -Norman Conquest we proceed to our more humble task of noting the history -of the parochial clergy and of their flocks. - -[Illustration: Durham Cathedral.] - -The new men, military adventurers though they were, among whom the Norman -conqueror had divided the lands of England, did not, like the Anglo-Saxon -conquerors, trample out Christianity under their feet; nor, like the Danes -in their turn, plunder the monasteries and churches; on the contrary, the -Normans behaved like Christian men who, having come into power in a -country which was in a backward religious condition, set themselves to -effect religious improvements in their newly acquired possessions. Every -bishop set to work to rebuild his cathedral church, or to build a new one -in the place to which his see had been removed. This leads to the -inference that the old Saxon cathedrals were comparatively small, in an -inferior style of architecture, and perhaps out of repair. Many of the -lords of manors seem to have rebuilt the parish churches, and to have -built new churches in remote parts of their estates.[75] The bishops also -made provision for the spiritual wants of the people more especially -dependent upon them; Lanfranc, for example, built two churches and two -hospitals in Canterbury, and erected several churches in the manors -belonging to the archbishopric. - -If we consider the way in which the landed property of the kingdom was -resettled after the Conquest, each great tenant of the Crown subdividing -his vast estates among the lesser lords who had fought under his banner, -we shall see the likelihood that each of these new lords of manors, as -soon as the country had settled down in tranquillity, would set himself to -make the best of his new acquisitions; to add to their value by breaking -up new waste land; to consult his dignity and comfort by improving upon -the rude old hall of his Saxon predecessor, or building himself a new -manor house. If his manor had only a chapel with imperfect privileges, he -would not be content without obtaining for it the status of an -independent parish; and the Norman taste for building would lead him to -replace the rude timber chapel by a stone church in the improved style of -architecture which had lately been introduced. In some cases the new lord -built himself a manor house on a new site at a distance from the old one, -and a church near to it, and adopted the new church as the parish church, -leaving the old one to serve as a chapel to those who lived near it.[76] A -great number of village churches in nearly all parts of England still -remain, in whole or in part, whose architectural characteristics show that -they are of about this period. Ordericus Vitalis, the historian of the -conqueror's sons, says[77] that especially in the reign of Henry I.,[78] -by the fervent devotion of the faithful, the houses and temples built by -Edgar and Edward, and other Christian kings, were taken down to be -replaced with others of greater magnitude and more elegant workmanship, to -the glory of the Creator. - -[Illustration: Old Shoreham Church, Sussex.] - -The life of Orderic himself supplies an example. His father was a priest, -a man of some learning, who had come over at the Norman Conquest in the -train of Roger of Montgomery, afterwards created Earl of Shrewsbury, and -received from his lord lands on the Meole, three miles east of Shrewsbury. -He found on this estate of Atcham, a chapel built of timber dedicated to -S. Eata, and replaced it by one of stone. He had his son Orderic baptized -by the Saxon priest of the parish, who also stood as his sponsor, and gave -his own name (sometimes spelt Ulricus) to the child. At the age of five -years, he entrusted the child to the care of a priest named Siward, to be -taught the first rudiments of learning; and five years afterwards, on the -death of his noble patron, he devoted both himself and his son to the -monastic life in the monastery at Shrewsbury, which the earl had lately -founded.[79] - - * * * * * - -The greatest ecclesiastical work of the Normans was, however, the revival -of the monastic system, and the filling of the country with noble and -wealthy monasteries. The ascetic spirit had been revived in Italy and -France by Odo of Clugny, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and others, who -had founded new orders of the Benedictine and Augustinian rules. The -Norman nobles brought this new enthusiasm with them; and just as in the -early Saxon period every thane thought it incumbent upon him to build a -parish church on his estate, so now it became almost a fashion for every -great noble to found a monastery upon his lordship. The nobles, while -thinking first of the glory of God, and the spiritual advantages of the -prayers of a holy community for the founder, his family and descendants, -were conscious also of the dignity which a monastery reflected upon the -family which founded and patronized it, and not insensible to the temporal -advantages of the establishment of a centre of civilization and religion -in the midst of their dependents. - -[Illustration: Norman bishops and abbots. (From the twelfth century MS.)] - -William led the way by his foundation of a great Benedictine abbey on the -field of his victory at Hastings, to which was given the name of Battle -Abbey. William of Warrenne built a priory at Lewes (1077), into which he -introduced the new Cluniac Order. The canons regular of St. Augustine were -introduced into England at Colchester c. 1100; the Cistercians at Waverley -in Surrey, in 1128; the Carthusians at Witham in Somerset in 1180; and by -the end of the twelfth century religious houses of various orders had been -founded in every part of the country. We have seen that at the end of the -Saxon period there were only about fifty religious houses in England; -under William and his two successors upwards of 300 new ones were founded. - -The religious fervour of the monks, who abandoned the world and practised -self-denial as a means to spiritual perfection and closer communion with -God, naturally excited awed admiration; the picturesque surroundings of -their profession, the frock and hood, the shaven head and mortified -countenance, the hard life of the cloister and the manifold services in -the church, impressed the imagination; and consequently the popularity of -the monks threw the secular clergy into the shade. The great churches of -the monasteries rivalled the cathedrals in magnitude and splendour; the -great abbots--relieved by the pope from the jurisdiction of their bishops, -exercising themselves jurisdiction over their own estates, summoned to -parliament, wealthy and learned--were the rivals of the bishops; and the -"lord monks" held a higher rank in public estimation than the parish -rectors. The importance of the political part they played in the life of -the Middle Ages was hardly, perhaps, commensurate with the space they -occupied in it. The Benedictines cultivated learning, and the Cistercians -were enterprising agriculturists; the Augustinian orders were useful as -preachers in the towns, and managers of hospitals; the nunneries of -various orders were schools for the daughters of the gentry; they were all -citadels of religion and learning over the length and breadth of the land; -but from the point of view of public utility, abbots and monks seldom took -any important part in the political events which made history, or were -employed in the administration of the government, or made their mark as -men of learning, as the bishops and secular clergy did in every -generation. - - * * * * * - -The principal relation between the monasteries and the parish priests is -a sinister one; when the popularity of the monks waned, and the secular -clergy in the thirteenth century regained the confidence of the people, -the mischief was already done which has never been undone. Nearly half the -parishes of England had been stripped of the best part of their -endowments, in order to found and enrich the monasteries; but a small -portion was rescued from their hands by the bishops on the reaction of the -thirteenth century; the rest the monks retained till the Reformation of -the sixteenth century; and then it was swallowed up by the king and his -new nobility. But the history of the impropriation of benefices, and the -subsequent foundation of perpetual vicarages, requires a chapter to -itself. - -[Illustration: ORDINATION OF A PRIEST. FROM THE LATE XII. CENT. DRAWING, -HARL. ROLL, Y 6.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE FOUNDATION OF VICARAGES. - - -The Norman founders of monasteries not only gave to them lands and moneys, -but also the parish churches, of which they had the advowson. It can -hardly be said that in so doing they gave what was not theirs to give, for -the idea was still prominent in men's minds that the church which a -landlord or his antecessor had built for himself and his people was, in a -sense, his church, and that he was at liberty (as he is to this day) to -give his rights in it to some one else; moreover, the ancient custom of -assigning the tithe of his lands to various religious uses, at the owner's -discretion, was still not obsolete,[80] so that the assignment of part of -the tithe away from the parish in which it was raised to a religious -community at a distance shocked no one's conscience. Already before the -Conquest, in France, the admirers of the new monastic orders had largely -adopted the practice of endowing the new religious houses which they -founded with the parochial benefices in their patronage; and the practice -had found some imitators in England.[81] The Norman lords, between their -thank offerings of English benefices to their monasteries at home, in -Normandy and elsewhere, and their zeal in founding monasteries on their -new English estates and endowing them with their parish churches, in a -very short time bestowed a great number of parochial benefices upon the -religious houses. - -Sometimes a manor was given to a monastery with the appendant advowson of -the rectory, which merely put the religious house in the position of any -other patron; but in such cases the community usually, either at once or -before very long, obtained some share of the income of the benefice, and -ultimately, in most cases, its absolute appropriation.[82] - -But in the more usual case the benefice was given to the religious house -in such a way that the community became the "rector" of the parish, with, -on one hand, all the responsibility of the cure of souls and the -maintenance of the charities and hospitalities of the parish, and, on the -other hand, with possession of all the endowments, fees, rights, and -privileges of the rector. It is only charitable to suppose that the lords -of manors, who thus gave over their advowsons, thought that they were -doing two good things: first, putting the spiritual interests of the -parishioners into the hands of men of superior unworldliness and -spirituality, who would do better for them than the old squire-rectors and -their hired chaplains; and secondly, devoting the surplus revenues of the -benefices to the maintenance of religious organizations, which would use -them to the glory of God and the spiritual profit of the people in many -ways. These benefices were called appropriate benefices, from the -customary phrase used in their conveyance, _ad proprios usus_ of the abbot -and the community. - -The spiritual duties of the parish were sometimes served by one of the -community in holy orders, or by a cleric attached to the house; sometimes -by a stipendiary priest who was paid according to private agreement, and -dismissed at pleasure. - -A short experience showed that the monks told off to take charge of these -appropriate parishes did not generally make very efficient parish -priests--how, indeed, should they? The pastoral work of a parish requires -other qualities, ideas, sympathies, than those which are proper to the -cloister. And, on the other hand, it was soon found that where clerks were -employed to fulfil the parochial duties, the parishes were under the -disadvantages--with which some of us are well acquainted in these days--of -one supplied during a vacancy by temporary help; the clerk had no status -in the parish, and no permanent interest in it. In both cases it was found -that the duties were often perfunctorily performed, and that the spiritual -life of the parish languished. - -[Illustration: Abbot presenting clerk for ordination. (Harl. MS., 1527.)] - -At the great national synod of Westminster, held by Anselm in 1102, which -was attended by some of the lay nobles, an attempt was made to mitigate -the evil. It was decreed (canon 21) that monks should not possess -themselves of parish churches without the sanction of the bishop, and that -they should not take so much of the profits of appropriate parishes as to -impoverish the priests officiating therein. But the evil continued and -increased until the Court of Rome took up the question and lent its -authority to the movement. A decree of the Lateran Council in 1179 forbade -the religious to receive tithes from the laity without the consent of the -bishops, and empowered the bishops to make proper provision for the -spiritual work of the appropriate parishes. The English bishops, -strengthened by the Papal authority, set themselves to provide a remedy. -This took the form of the foundation of Perpetual Vicarages in the -appropriated parishes. The bishop required that the convent, instead of -serving the parochial cure by one of the brethren, or by a clerk living in -the monastery, or by a chaplain resident in the parish on such a stipend -as the convent chose to give, and removable at pleasure, should nominate a -competent parish priest, to the satisfaction of the bishop, who was to -institute him as perpetual vicar. His title of "Vicarius" implied that he -was the representative of the rector; his tenure was permanent and -independent; he was answerable to the bishop, and to him only, for the -proper fulfilment of his duties; and the bishop required that out of the -revenues of the parish a house and such a portion should be assigned for a -perpetual endowment as would enable the vicar of the parish to maintain -his position in decent comfort.[83] - -The pecuniary arrangement usually made was that the small tithes--"_i.e._ -the tithes of every kind except of corn--and the customary offerings and -fees, were assigned to the vicar; while the religious house took the -'great tithes,' _i.e._ the tithe of corn." Sometimes the vicar took the -whole revenue of the parish of all kinds, and paid a fixed yearly sum of -money to the appropriators. Sometimes the community took the revenue, and -gave the vicar a fixed sum.[84] There was an appeal open to both sides if -it turned out that the original agreement seemed, on experience of its -working, to be inequitable; and there are many cases in which vicars did -appeal, and obtained an augmentation of their incomes. - -A canon of Otho, 1237, required that a man instituted into a vicarage -should be a deacon at least, and proceed to take priest's orders in the -course of his first year. - -The details of a few special cases will illustrate these general -statements, and will help to admit us into the inner life of the medival -parishes from a new point of view, and so increase the knowledge we are -seeking of the day-by-day religious life of the parish priests and their -people. - -Thurstan, son of Wini, in the time of King Edward the Confessor, gave the -Manor of Harlow to the great monastery of St. Edmund, recently restored by -Canute; with the manor the church appendant to it; the convent nominated -to the rectory as any other patron would do, until Pope Boniface IX.--for -the monastery claimed exemption from episcopal jurisdiction, and regarded -no one but the Pope himself as its superior--gave the abbot licence to -appropriate the church, and to provide for the cure of the parish either -by one of the monks or by a secular priest as the abbot should think fit. - -In 1398 the abbot, in obedience to the canons, was willing to have a -vicarage appointed for the well-being of the parishioners; the vicar was -to have the _mansum_ of the rectory for his residence, and the tithe of -all sorts of things, except the tithe of corn. It is worth while to give -the list of the tithes allotted to the vicar, as an example once for all -of what was included under the comprehensive name of small tithes, viz. of -wool, lambs, calves, pigs, and geese; pears, apples, and other fruits of -trees and orchards; flax, hemp, fallen wood, wax, honey and cheese; -besides the tithes of a mill and a pigeon-house, and a money payment of -4_s._ 8-1/4_d._ a year, which probably was an existing composition for -payment in kind or some small endowment for lights or what not. Then come -some further stipulations. Seeing that the substitution of a poor vicar -for a wealthy rector might affect the customary charities, the abbot was -to pay 10_s._ a year to the parishioners to be distributed to the -poor,[85] in compensation for any damage to them by means of the -appropriation. Also the vicar was to pay a marc (13_s._ 4_d._) to the -Bishop of London in lieu of certain profits which the see would lose by -the new arrangement.[86] - -St. Hugh of Lincoln is said to have settled the vicarage of Swynford, -Lincolnshire, in 1200, an early example. His successor, William of Blois -(1203-1209), as one of the earliest acts of his episcopate, required the -Canons of Dunstable to endow a vicarage for their church of Pullokeshull -with the altar dues, ten acres of land, and a third of the tithes. From -the register of his successor, Hugh of Wells (1209-1235), it appears that -three hundred vicarages were ordained in his long episcopate. In 1220 he -made a visitation of Dunstable Priory, and made the monks settle vicarages -in five of their churches. The Pope gave his successor, Bishop Grostete -(1235-1254), authority to visit the exempt[87] orders, and to make them -endow vicarages for their churches. - -And what the Bishops of Lincoln were doing in their vast diocese, other -bishops were also doing all up and down the country; the episcopal -registers abound in records of these "taxations," as they were called.[88] -We take two or three examples from the register of Walter de Gray, -Archbishop of York, 1215-1256. - -The name of Kirkby Malamdale shows that it was an ancient parish. A -charter of King John confirmed the gift of it by Adam Fitz Adam to the -canons of West Dereham in Norfolk, _quod suos in usus convertant proprios, -salv tamen decenti et honorifica administratione ejus ecclesi_. The -abbot and canons appear, however, to have failed to fulfil the provisions -stipulated for in the charter, for Archbishop Walter de Gray, in 1250, -peremptorily summoned them "to appear before him on the morrow of the -Lord's Day on which is sung _Ltare Jerusalem_ (fourth in Lent), wherever -in his diocese he should happen to be, to show how the vicarage was -endowed and under what authority, taking notice that whether they were -present or not, if it should appear to be insufficient, he should proceed -to augment it both by the apostolic authority (_i.e._ of the Apostolic -See) and by his own."[89] - -These arrangements were (as has been said) universally subject to future -modification. For example, in settling the Vicarage of Gerneby (Granby), -which was in the presentation of the Prior and Convent of Thurgarton, -Notts, the archbishop describes what the vicar is to have, and concludes -that the Prior and Convent are to have the residue, "unless it should -appear that an augmentation is needed."[90] Appeals from vicars for an -augmentation are not infrequent; for example, "Magister Orlandus, the -perpetual vicar of Cunigbur (Conisborough), having urged against the prior -and Convent of Lewes that his vicarage be taxed (= surveyed and valued and -dealt with), we do so. The corn tithe, demesne lands and meadow of the -church, and the tenants' rents to belong to the prior and convent; the -lesser tithes, etc., with two tofts, which we have assigned for a manse, -to belong to the vicar."[91] - -In the ordination of the churches of Dalton, Urswick, Millum and Kirkby -Ireleth belonging to Furness Abbey, the archbishop orders that Dalton -shall be a vicarage of 15 marks, Urswick shall continue as it is, the -mediety of Millum the abbot and convent shall retain _ad proprios usus_, -and the other mediety of Millum and Kirkby and its chapels shall be at his -own disposition; and that each mediety of Millum shall have a vicarage of -15 marks. - -In the ordination of the churches belonging to the prior and canons of St. -Oswald of Nostell, he says, that in consideration of the poverty and -religious and honourable life of the prior and canons, he gives, grants, -and confirms to them in pure and perpetual alms a pension of 20 marks of -silver a year from the church of South Kirkby, which is in their advowson; -and a pension of 15 marks from Tikhill, which is in their advowson. A -little later, making a new ordination of the churches of Tikhill, South -Kirkby, Rowell (Rothwell), Bouelton (Bolton), Wyverthorpe, and the mediety -of Mekesburgh (Mexborough), he orders, that in the chapel of Slayneton (in -the parish of Tikhill), since it has a baptistery and a cemetery on -account of its distance from the mother church, there shall be a perpetual -vicar, who for the maintenance of himself and of the lights and other -necessaries of the chapel, shall have the whole altarage of Slayneton, -with the lands belonging to the said chapel. The Vicar of South Kirkby -shall have with him a fellow-priest (_socium sacerdotum_). The Vicar of -Rothwell, for the maintenance of himself and a fellow-priest, shall have -all the altarage with a competent manse. He assigns to the Church of York -for ever the Church of Wyverthorpe (with the reservation of competent -vicars), and both the mother church and the chapel of Helperthorpe; and he -appoints that in the mother church of Wyverthorpe there shall be a -perpetual resident priest vicar, with 24 marks a year, and in the chapel -of Helperthorpe, on account of its distance from the mother church, there -shall be a resident priest vicar, who for his sustenance and that of his -clerks, that he may the more fully and honourably serve the said chapel, -shall have 10 marks yearly. - -In the ordination of the churches of Sherburn, Fenton, and St. Maurice, in -York, which were appropriate to one of the prebendaries of York, he -decrees that each shall have a perpetual vicar with cure of souls, who -shall sustain the burden of their churches and their chapels; the Vicar of -Sherburn to have the altarage of the church and its chapels, and pay to -the canon 35 marks sterling a year; the Vicar of Fenton shall have all the -altarage, paying 6 marks to the canon; and the Vicar of St. Maurice in -Monkgate, York, shall pay 4 marks. - -In the register of Bishop Bronscombe of Exeter (1258-1280) there are -frequent records of the assignment of vicarages; in the majority of cases, -the vicar is given a house and the small tithes, and is required to -sustain all due and customary charges. - -The ordination of a vicarage in a parish in which assistant-chaplains had -been used to be employed, often stipulated for their continued employment -and maintenance by the vicar, and often made other conditions as to the -efficient service of the church and parish. For example, in settling the -vicarage of the prebendal church of Sutton, Lincolnshire, 1276, it was -ordained that the vicar should be assisted in the service of the church by -a deacon and a clerk; and that he should maintain six candles and a lamp -in the chancel at his own cost.[92] - - In ordaining a vicarage in St. Mary's Church in 1269, Bishop - Bronscombe, of Exeter, requires that the vicar shall keep with him, at - his own cost, two chaplains who shall serve the chapels in the - parish.[93] Again, in 1283, in constituting a vicarage at Glasney, the - same bishop requires that the vicar, by himself and by two chaplains - maintained at his own cost, shall serve the mother church and its - chapels as has been accustomed to be done.[94] In the following year - the same bishop calls upon the Vicar of Harpford to maintain a - chaplain to serve the Chapel of Fenotery.[95] Bishop Quivil, in 1283, - requires the Vicar of St. Crantoch and St. Columb Minor to maintain a - chaplain for the chapel at his own cost (Quivil's "Register," p. 371). - -In 1327, Walter, Vicar of Yatton, Somerset, one of the prebends of the -Cathedral of Bath and Wells, complained to Bishop Drokensford that he had -not enough for the maintenance of himself and two chaplains. The prebend -was worth a hundred marks and the vicarage ten. The bishop accordingly -assigned to the vicarage a portion of the tithe.[96] Other bishops' -registers, no doubt all of them, contain similar cases.[97] - -In 1439, Archbishop Chichele remarks on the poverty of some vicarages, and -the difficulty the vicars have in obtaining an augmentation of them from -the rectors and proprietors of churches, and orders ordinaries to allow -such vicars to sue _in form pauperis_, and to take care that they have -not less than twelve marks a year, if the whole value of the living will -extend to so much. - -On the other hand, there were sometimes appeals from the appropriators to -the bishop to diminish the sum assigned to the vicar. For example, the -Rectory of Kettlewell, co. York, was given to Covenham Abbey, and a -vicarage ordained in 1344, on the unusual condition of the assignment to -the vicar of the rectory house, and an annual payment of seven marks; in -1359 a new "taxation" of the vicarage was made, and the money payment -reduced to five marks. The Rectory of Whalley was given to the Abbey of -Stanlaw in 1284, and a vicarage ordained at the same time; in 1340, on the -representation that the endowment of the vicarage was excessive, and that -the religious community were involved in the costly work of building -their new house and church at Whalley, the Bishop of Lichfield -considerably reduced the endowment. - -The monasteries did not always fulfil their obligations. Sometimes they -seem, when a vacancy occurred in the vicarage, to have left it vacant, and -served the parish by one of their own members, or in some cheaper way. To -this abuse a constitution of Othobon was directed, in 1268, which orders -that the religious should present a vicar with competent endowment within -six months, and, if not, the bishop should fill up the vacancy. The monks -of Whalley transgressed in this way from the year c. 1356 onwards by -serving the parish church by one of their number. The abuse, however, -continued, and at length provoked the interference of the Legislature. In -4 Henry IV. the Commons petitioned the king that curates non-resident, -should incur the penalties of prmunire (Rot. Parl.). In the same year a -statute was made providing, _inter alia_, "that henceforth in every church -appropried a secular person be ordained vicar, and that no religious be in -any wise made vicar in any church so appropried." But, unfortunately, no -penalty was attached to a neglect of the law, and therefore it had little -or no effect. Again, in the 10th Henry VI., a bill was proposed by the two -Houses of Parliament requiring that "in every church appropried a secular -person be ordained perpetual vicar, and that if any religious henceforth -suffer a vicarage to be for six months without a resident vicar, the said -church shall be disappropried and disamortized for ever;" but, unhappily, -the king refused his assent to it, and the evil continued.[98] - - * * * * * - -The institution of vicarages, like everything else, was liable to abuses. -One of the abuses was where a rector instituted a vicarage in his own -rectory, thus reserving the greater part of the income of the benefice to -himself as a sinecure, and devolving the labour and responsibility upon -another who received the lesser share. Thus, in the Lichfield Register, in -1328, the Rector of Walton was allowed to have a curate (vicar) on -condition of setting aside for him a house in the parish, the oblations at -the altar and at marriages and churchings, the tithes of a hamlet, and -herbage of church and chapel yards; the curate was to find chaplains for -the chapels, and a deacon at 20_s._ a year for the church.[99] - -Another abuse, forbidden by the Synod of Oxford, in 1223, was for the -parson of a parish to change himself into a vicar, and dispose of the -rectory to another. This synod also ordained that vicars should serve the -cure in person, should be in priests' orders or proceed to them -immediately, and that every presentee should make oath that he had not -given or promised anything or entered into any agreement on account of his -presentation. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -PAROCHIAL CHAPELS. - - -At a rather early period, so the evidence leads us to conclude, all the -great Saxon landowners had founded a religious house or a rectory on their -estates, and these had, first by custom and then by legal recognition of -the custom, obtained certain rights; on one hand, the sole right of -spiritual ministration and pastoral jurisdiction among the people on those -estates; and, on the other hand, to certain payments from them. Many of -these estates were very large in area, embracing what at first were tracts -of uninhabited and uncultivated country. But as population increased, and -new lands were brought under cultivation, the spiritual needs of the new -halls and new hamlets which came into being were supplied by chapels; -these were built sometimes by the munificence of the lord of the whole -estate, sometimes by the pious zeal of the rector who felt himself -responsible for these new parishioners; sometimes by the mesne lord to -whom the land of the new clearing had been granted; sometimes by the -group of farmers whose labour had cleared the forest or broken up the -waste. - -The old Saxon parish priests frequently had one or more chaplains and -clerks living with them and assisting them in their duties;[100] and this -continued to be the case down to the Reformation, the bishops taking such -steps as they could to perpetuate the maintenance of these chaplains. - -When these _chapels_ were erected, care was taken of the rights of the -mother church. Constitutions of Egbert, Archbishop of York in 750, decree -that the mother church shall not be deprived of tithes or other rights by -allotment of them to new chapels. The same is ordered in a council under -King Ethelred, by the advice of his two archbishops, Alfege and Wulfstan. - -Clun, Shropshire, is an example of the great Saxon parishes. In the time -of Richard I., Isabel de Saye gave the church and its chapels to Wenlock -Priory for the safety of her soul and the souls of her husband and son, -her father and mother, and all her ancestors and successors. The chapels -enumerated are at the vill of St. Thomas de Waterdene, de Clumbire, de -Cluntune, de Oppetune, and the chapels de Eggedune and Sebbidune, and all -other chapels and belongings. The donor, however, reserves her free -chapels, viz. the chapel of her castle, and any others.[101] - -Shawbury was a Saxon foundation mentioned in Domesday. A certificate of -Bishop Roger de Clinton (1130-1148) shows that there were then four -villes, viz. of Aston Reynald, Moreton Corbet, Grenvill, and Great -Withyford, and that the bishop consecrated chapels in three of them, there -being one already existing. The bishop decided that such lands and -endowment as the lords of the fees had offered when he consecrated the new -cemeteries were offered to the mother church. The church, with its -chapels, was appropriated to Haughmond Abbey; the canons of Haughmond -being required to present fit chaplains to the Church and assign them a -proper sustenance, the residue they might appropriate to their own uses -and the entertainment of guests.[102] - -[Illustration: Clun Church, Shropshire.] - -At length the multiplication of chapels was regulated by legislation. The -synod of Westminster (1102), under Anselm, decreed that no more should be -erected without the bishop's leave. - -In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the endowment of many of these -chapels, the concession to them of the right of baptism, marriage, and -burial, the assignment of a district within which the priest had pastoral -jurisdiction, and the concession to the mesne lord of the patronage of the -chapel which he had built and endowed, amounted to the practical elevation -of such chapels to the status of parish churches. The natural tendency of -things was in this direction. A landholder who had built a church for -himself and his people would naturally desire that it should possess the -dignity of a parish church, and was thus induced to provide a sufficient -endowment for it. The people would naturally desire the convenience of -having all the means of grace at their own church instead of having to -carry their children to a distance for baptism and their dead for burial, -and in some cases the more well-to-do freeholders would be willing to -contribute to the cost of it. The quotation of some actual examples will -be the most interesting way of illustrating the general history of this -development.[103] - - Domesday speaks of one church in the Hundred of Alnodestreu and County - of Salop, viz. that of St. Gregory. When Bishop Robert de Betun (about - 1138) granted this church to the Abbey of Shrewsbury, St. Gregory's - became the priory church of Momerfeuld, or Morville, and it had three - dependent chapels, which were also appropriated to the priory, viz. at - Billingsley which had as its endowment half the corn tithes of the - said ville and paid 6_s._ 8_d._ to the mother church, at Olbury which - paid 5_s._ and at Tasley which paid 6_s._ 8_d._[104] - - Within a year or two Robert Fitz Aer[105] founded another chapel at - Aston Aer, endowing it with sixty acres and a house and all tithes of - the domain. Within ten years two other such chapels were built, viz. - at Aldenham and Underdon with separate endowments. By the - appropriation deed, which gives St. Gregory and its chapels to the - convent, it is ordained that these chapels shall be subject to the - mother church of Morville, so that on great festivals the people shall - attend there, and the priest of Morville shall, if he pleases, have - the dead carried thither for burial. Again, the same bishop - consecrated a new chapel at Astley Abbots, endowed by the Abbot of - Salop himself with thirty acres, a house, and a parcel of land worth - 4_s._ per ann. - -These seven chapels in one parish, nearly all consecrated by one bishop, -seem to mark a time of active extension. It is curious that, whereas -Orderic Vitalis says that there was much building of monasteries and -churches in the reign of Henry I., because the country had settled down, -after the troubles of the Conquest, into peace and security,[106] Bishop -de Betun says that he has consented to consecrate so many chapels as a -protection for the poor, and out of regard to the warlike troubles of the -time--for it was during the stormy reign of Stephen.[107] - - In many cases the owners of the estates on which the chapels were - situated, or the tenants, or both together, made an agreement with the - rector to augment the stipend of a chaplain so that he might give - additional services and pastoral care in their ville. Thus, when - Gilbert Norman (1130?) gave the church of Kingston-on-Thames to Merton - Priory, the parish had already four chapelries, Thames Ditton, East - Moulsey, Petersham, and Shene (now Richmond). In 1211 the inhabitants - of Petersham complained of the paucity of services in their chapel, - and the matter came before the Ecclesiastical Courts. It would appear - that lack of funds was at the bottom of the deficiency of service. The - prior and convent, "of their great piety, and for the good of the - souls of their parishioners," granted to the vicar and his successors - two quarters of corn, one of barley, and one of oats; and the Abbot - and Convent of Chertsey, who were considerable landowners there, also - of their good will granted a quarter of corn from their lands there, - for the sustentation of a chaplain who should celebrate in the chapel - thrice a week, viz. on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.[108] A like - complaint was made again in 1266, when the appropriators increased - their grant to four quarters of wheat, one of barley, and one of oats; - and seventeen of the parishioners for themselves and heirs granted a - payment of one bushel of wheat for every ten acres of their land, - making twenty-four and a half bushels. Other cases in which the people - themselves contributed to the support of their priest will be found in - the chapter on Chantries. - -Clearly the thing to be desired was to get resident chaplains appointed to -all the villes with a considerable population, and to that end to get -endowments for them, and much was done in this direction in the thirteenth -century. We shall find ample illustrations of various features of the work -in the forty years' episcopate of Archbishop Walter Gray. The archbishop -wrote to the Pope, Gregory IX., on the subject, desiring, no doubt, to get -the support of the Papal sanction for the measures which he desired to -take. We gather from the pope's reply that the archbishop had represented -to him that "many parishes in his diocese were so widely spread that the -parishioners were at a great distance from their church, and were not -able, without much inconvenience, to come to the Divine services; and that -it often happened, when the priest was summoned by the sick, that before -he could arrive they had died without confession and the viaticum;" and -no doubt the archbishop had suggested what he desired to do; whereupon the -pope grants to him leave that, after due consideration of the distance of -places, the difficulties of the roads, and the number of the increasing -population, in parishes of this sort, he should build oratories and -institute priests in them.[109] - -The way in which the archbishop set to work (1233) to strengthen the -existing machinery is admirably illustrated in the ordinance which he drew -up with the concurrence of the dean for the vicarages with their chapels -belonging to the deanery. There were three vicarages, Pocklington, -Pickering, and Kellum. Pocklington had six chapels, Pickering four, and it -does not appear that Kellum had any. First he strengthened the mother -churches by the requirement that each of the vicars should, "besides all -other necessary ministers," have a chaplain--an assistant priest--always -with him. Then he consolidated the six chapels of Pocklington and the four -of Pickering, two and two, into five vicarages, _i.e._ two neighbouring -chapels were formed into a vicarage, the incumbent of which was to have -_in nomine vicaragi_ certain endowments, and the vicar was to find the -necessary ministers for both chapels; but the dignity of the mother -churches was reserved by the provision that the new vicars were to pay a -small annual sum to their mother churches _nomine subjectionis_.[110] -Another illustration of the way in which the improved condition of things -was brought about is in the case of Roundelay. Sir John de Roundelay and -his heirs and the men of that ville had licence (A.D. 1231) to establish a -perpetual chantry in their chapel every day in the year save Christmas, -Purification, Easter ("Parasceues"), and All Saints, and if they had -service on Palm Sunday, it was to be without procession and the blessing -of the Palms; neither were they to have the celebration of baptism, -marriage, or churching; on all these occasions they were to repair to the -mother church, and the chaplain and people were to swear obedience to the -mother church and its rectors. Sir John provided an endowment for the new -incumbent, and the vicar of the mother church was to give him half a mark -a year (6_s._ 8_d._), in consideration, no doubt, that it had hitherto -been a charge upon him to that extent or more to make provision for the -partial services at the chapel.[111] - -Again, Berneston Chapel, Notts, had been accustomed to have only three -services a week. The people had the archbishop's licence to give an -endowment to provide for having full services in their chapel _pro habendo -plenario servitio_ by a chaplain and clerk residing there.[112] - -There are many other examples in the Archbishop's Register of similar -extensions of the usefulness of the existing ecclesiastical machinery, but -these are enough to show the way in which it was done. There can be no -doubt that the work was done in the same way where it was needed in the -other dioceses of the kingdom. - -There is a curious instance at Stokesay, in Shropshire. Before the -Conquest, the parish church of that estate had been at Aldon, which is -mentioned in Domesday. After the Conquest, the status of parish church had -been given to a new church at Stokesay, on the same estate, and Aldon -Church had been left in the status of a chapel. In 1367, the chief -parishioners of Aldon took proceedings against the vicar, Walter of -Greneburg, for neglecting them, and he was required by the bishop to find -a chaplain to celebrate three days a week--Sunday, Wednesday, and -Friday--except on great festivals.[113] - -The following seems to be an instance of the transition of dependent -chapels into independent parish churches, and an illustration of the way -in which sometimes it came about. At Newnham, Gloucestershire, in 1260, an -inquisition _post mortem_ found that the Rector of Westbury held the -chapels of Newnham and Munstreworth as pertaining to the Church of -Westbury. In 1309, in the Pleas before the King, the jurors declared on -oath that the churches of Newnham and Munstreworth were mother churches -with cure of souls before the time of King Henry III., and in the -presentation of the king. - -Here is an example at Whalley of the way in which great landed proprietors -brought new tracts of their forest and waste under cultivation, and -created new manors. - - In a suit in the reign of Edward III., the jurors found that in the - time of King John there was not in the aforesaid place of Brandwode - any manor or manses, but it was waste, neither built upon nor - cultivated, and was parcel of the aforesaid forest of Penhul [Pendle], - and it is said that in the time of Henry, the ancestor [proavus] of - the present king, the then abbot [of Whalley] built houses on the - aforesaid waste of Brandwode, and caused a great part of the waste to - be enclosed, which is now called the Manor of Brandwode.[114] - -And here is a late example of the people reclaiming waste, and building a -chapel for themselves:-- - - In the end of the fifteenth century the forest of Rossendale was - inhabited only, or chiefly, by foresters and the keepers of the deer. - Upon representation to King Henry VII., and afterwards to Henry VIII., - that if the deer were taken away, the forest was likely to come to - some good purpose, it was disafforested, and let forth in divers - sorts, some for a term of years, some by copy of Court Roll; so that - where there was nothing else but deer and other savage and wild - beasts, by the industry of the inhabitants, there is since grown to be - very fertile ground well replenished with people. And inasmuch as the - Castle Church of Clitheroe, being their parish church, was distant - twelve miles, and the ways very foul, painful, and perilous, and the - country in the winter season so extremely and vehemently cold, that - infants borne to the church are in great peril of their lives, and the - aged and impotent people and women great with child not able to travel - so far to hear the Word of God, and the dead corpses like to remain - unburied till such time as great annoyance to grow thereby, the - inhabitants about 1512, at their proper costs, made a chapel-of-ease - in the said forest; since the disafforesting of the said forest from - eighty persons there are grown to be a thousand young and old. At the - same time, one Lettice Jackson, a widow, vested in feoffees certain - lands for the use of the new church of our Saviour in Rossendale. The - population seems to have continued to increase, for, thirty years - afterwards, the people founded and edified a chapel in Morell Height - in honour of God, our Blessed Lady and All Saints.[115] - -We have seen that the law carefully safeguarded the rights of the mother -churches, as against the new chapels which sprang up. The Church also was -careful to maintain their dignity in a way which calls for some remark. -The curate of a chapel, on his institution, made a vow of reverence and -obedience to his rector. Very generally some small payment was required -from the chapelry to the rector _in nomine subjectionis_, as an -acknowledgment of dependence. The people of the chapelries were required -on several of the great festivals of the Church to communicate at the -mother church, and on one or more of these festivals to visit the mother -church in procession with flags flying. - -There was another custom, very like this, on a larger scale, viz. the -custom for the parishioners of all the parishes of a diocese to visit the -cathedral church in procession on a given day in the year. This seems to -have been a very old custom, for which Sir R. Phillimore quotes the -Council of Agde and the Decretum of Gratian,[116] and suggests that it -was probably introduced into England at the Norman Conquest. We find it -enjoined in the canons of several Diocesan Councils; and it is tolerably -certain that it was a general custom. - -We suggest that the idea at the back of these customs was not merely that -the offerings of the people of the chapelries should not be lost to the -rector of the mother church on the three great days of offering; and that -the cathedral should receive a yearly tribute from every subject of the -bishop. We suggest that the purpose of the custom was to maintain the idea -of the unity of the Church. The chapels had received their Christianity -from the mother church, and all the "houseling people" in recognition of -it worshipped there three times a year. The mother churches received their -Christianity from the bishop's see, and were his spiritual subjects, and -once a year went up in procession to worship at the cathedral as an act of -homage. And these reunions would, in fact, promote the idea of brotherly -communion and Christian unity, as the attendance of the Israelites on the -three great festivals at their one temple in Jerusalem tended to maintain -the national unity of the people as the people of God. - -Nothing is free from abuse. We learn from the Register of Bishop Storey, -of Chichester, that in 1478 the people who came yearly to visit the shrine -of St. Richard on his commemoration day (April 3), had been accustomed to -carry long painted wands, and in struggles for precedence had used these -wands upon one another's heads and shoulders; wherefore the bishop -directs that in future they shall, instead of wands, carry banners and -crosses, that the several parishes shall march up reverently from the west -door of the cathedral in a prescribed order, of which notice should be -given by the incumbents in their churches on the Sunday preceding the -festival. - - * * * * * - -Royal chapels were, on no sound ecclesiastical principle, but by an -exercise of the royal prerogative, from an early period held to be outside -any episcopal jurisdiction.[117] For example, a series of churches along -the old Mercian border, Stone, Stafford, and Gnosall, Penkridge and -Wolverhampton, Tettenhall, as having been built by King Wulfhere, or by -Elfleda, the Lady of Mercia, claimed exemption from all control. Clinton -Bishop of Lichfield (1129-48) tried to bring them under his rule by -purchasing them of the king, and annexing them bodily to the possessions -of his see but that did not hinder them from still claiming their ancient -privileges. - -The lawyers[118] say that the king may by charter license a subject to -build a free chapel similarly free from the jurisdiction of the ordinary, -but they are not able to quote any instances of it. Some barons, however, -did claim freedom from jurisdiction for the chapels of certain castles; -perhaps on the ground that the castles were royal castles, and that they -held or had received them from the crown with all their privileges and -exemptions. For example, the chapel of St. Mary, in the castle at -Hastings, enlarged, if not founded, soon after the Conquest, by the Count -of Eu, for a dean and ten prebendaries, was claimed by successive lords of -the castle to be a free chapel; and in spite of repeated attempts by the -bishops of Chichester to assert their rights, the privilege was -successfully maintained till the fifteenth century. - -A number of chapels were called free chapels, apparently because they were -free from subjection to the mother church of the parish. We have already -seen that the free chapels, built for the convenience of outlying groups -of population, were at first served by chaplains from the mother church; -then the chaplains nominated by the rector resided at the chapelries; and -when the chapels were endowed and assigned districts, and obtained the -rights of baptism, marriage, and burial, still the patronage to the -chapelries was in the rector, and the sentiment of subjection to the -mother church was carefully kept up by the payment of a pension from the -one to the other, and the custom of a procession to the service of the -mother church on one or more great occasions. But in some cases a chapel -became freed from this subjection by the action of the neighbouring -squire, who, by purchase or agreement, obtained special rights over it; or -some private patron built and endowed a new chapel with the stipulation -for certain rights. We have seen that, when Isabel de Saye gave the -parish of Clun and all its chapels to Wenlock Priory, the donor reserved -her free chapels. - -Here is an instance of a chapel which is called a free chapel, but was -technically a chantry, and clearly intended to serve also as a -chapel-of-ease to the town in which it was situated. - - In 1309, Edward Lovekyn, of Kingston-on-Thames, had leave to build a - chapel there, and endow it with lands and rent. Robert Lovekyn, his - brother and successor, withheld some of the income, and was compelled - to restore it by threat of excommunication with bell and candle. In - 1352, John Lovekyn rebuilt the chapel and increased the endowment for - the sustentation of one or more additional chaplains, one to be warden - (it does not appear that there ever were more than the warden and one - brother), who had a manse. The rules and ordinances are given at - length in the book from which we quote. They were to live together in - the manse, with separate sleeping rooms, and a common table. The - warden was to provide suitable provision, and give to each brother a - gown of the same kind which he wore, and forty silver shillings a year - for his other necessaries. The warden was also to provide a clerk to - serve mass and wait upon the chaplains in their rooms; and to provide - honest surplices and amyces furred with black fur to wear in chapel. - The warden to be always in residence, and not to take any other cure; - not to give or sell any corrody; the warden might have guests at - table; if any other had a guest, he was to pay 3_d._ for his dinner - and 2_d._ for any other meal.[119] Masses to be said for the founder - and his family, and also to grace after dinner was to be added, "May - the souls of John Edward and Robert Lovekyn, our founders, and of the - Lord William, Bishop of Winchester, and all faithful deceased, rest in - peace through the mercy of God." On the four principal feasts the - chaplains were to attend the parish church and make their offerings - like other parishioners. In consideration that John Lovekyn gave a - manse to the vicarage, his chapel was to have all oblations which came - to it.[120] - - The calendar of the chapels, chantries, etc., at the time of the - Reformation, mentions 432 chapels, of which 198 are called "free - chapels." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE PARISH PRIEST--HIS BIRTH AND EDUCATION. - - -The early Saxon bishops were very often men of royal and noble families. -The religious houses, which were the centres of evangelization in the -early missionary phase of the history, were often founded by royal and -noble persons, who were not seldom themselves the first abbots and -abbesses, and handed down their houses and offices as hereditary -possessions. The parish churches were founded by the lords of the land, -who made the advowson appendant to the manor, and very usually brought up -a younger son to be the spiritual rector of the family estate. The natural -result of all this would be that a large proportion of the Saxon clergy -would be men of good family; not by any means exclusively, for we have -seen that even slaves[121] were sometimes admitted to Holy Orders, and we -have read[122] a kindly warning to priests of noble birth not to despise -their brethren of humbler origin; and the law assigned to every -priest--_qua_ priest--the rank of thane (p. 77). - -We know that the founders of the English churches established schools, and -finding their converts apt pupils, soon raised up a learned native clergy. -The young men intended for the pastoral office were taught the learning -and trained in the ascetic discipline of these monastic schools.[123] - -The natural result would be that the Saxon clergy would not only be -generally of good birth and breeding, but also religious, learned, and -capable men; the natural spiritual rulers, teachers, and protectors of the -population of freemen, villeins, and serfs who peopled the estate of which -the civil lord and ruler was often the rector's father or brother. - -The Norman Conquest introduced confusion for a time into both monasteries -and parishes. Norman abbots intruded into the religious houses, sometimes -quarrelled with the Saxon monks, and the first inhabitants of the -newly-founded monasteries were usually imported from abroad; as the -rectories fell vacant, they would be filled with the sons of the new -Norman lords of manors, and there could be little sympathy between the -Norman rector and the Saxon flock. But things soon settled down upon a new -course. In a very few generations Normans and Saxons amalgamated. The old -monasteries, revived and reformed, and the new ones added to them, were -filled with zealous English communities; and in the parishes an English -lord of the manor and an English rector ruled an English people. With the -thirteenth century we begin a new period of parish history, continuing -down to the sixteenth century, and extending all over the country, of -which the general features are very uniform; so that it is only necessary -occasionally to point out new institutions and phases of character. - - * * * * * - -Perhaps the most striking social feature of these centuries is the way in -which the Church opened up a career to all ranks and classes of the -people. The great landed families still maintained friendly relations with -the monasteries which their forbears had founded, and sometimes -contributed one of their cadets to the cloister, and perhaps in time -secured his nomination to the abbacy; the lords of the manors continued to -present their younger sons to the rectories; so that there was always a -strong aristocratic element among the clergy. The vicars were for the most -part the nominees of the religious houses, and the conjecture that abbots -and priors, and abbesses, and prioresses, and dignitaries of the houses, -not infrequently presented their relatives, and sometimes clerks in the -service of the house, is supported by some actual examples. - -The middle classes supplied a great number of the clergy who filled the -offices of parish chaplain (= assistant-curates), chantry priest, guild -priest, and the like; and many of these, by force of learning, character, -and good service, rose to higher offices. Even young men of the servile -class were not excluded from the ranks of the clergy. The slaves whom -Gregory and Aidan, and others, redeemed and trained as priests, may have -been young men of good family taken captive in war; but in the thirteenth -and subsequent centuries young men born and bred serfs were not -infrequently educated and ordained, and given fair chance of promotion. It -is true they were under special legal disabilities. A serf could not be -himself ordained, or send his children to school without his lord's leave, -for they were _adscripti glbe_, bound to the soil, and their labour and -their children's labour (or a portion of it, carefully defined by law and -custom) was an important part of the property of their lord; the canons of -the Church, moreover, from a very early period, had made servile birth a -disqualification for Holy Orders;[124] but in the thirteenth, and -especially in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, there are numerous -examples in which a serf gave a fine to his lord for leave to send his son -to school, and kindly lords not infrequently gave the right gratis to a -promising youth, and his ultimate freedom; and the Church frequently, -probably usually, as a matter of course, gave a dispensation _de defectu -natalium_. - -From the single manor of Woolrichston, in Warwickshire, we get these -illustrations of the text:--In 1361, Walter Martin paid 5_s._ for the -privilege of putting his son _ad scholas_. In 1371, William Potter fined -in 13_s._ 4_d._, that his eldest son may go _ad scholas_ and take Orders. -Stephen Sprot fined in 3_s._ 4_d._, that he might send his son Richard _ad -scholas_. William Henekyn fined in 5_s._, to marry his daughter Alice. In -1335, William at Water paid for licence for his younger son William _ad -sacrum ordinem promovendum_.[125] - -Here is another example. In 1312, the Bishop of Durham gave license to his -_nativus_, Walter de Hoghington, clerk, to receive all Divine orders, and -renounced his _jus domini_.[126] - -And this liberal sentiment was based upon the profoundest principle. When -the King's School at Canterbury was reorganized, at the time of the -Reformation, some of the commissioners to whom the work was committed -wished to limit the school to the children of gentlemen. It was for the -ploughman's son, they argued, to go to plough, and the artificer's son to -apply to the trade of his parents' vocation; and the gentleman's children -are used to have the knowledge of government and rule of the commonwealth. -"I grant," replied Archbishop Cranmer, who was one of the commissioners, -"much of your meaning herein as needful in a commonwealth; but yet utterly -to exclude the ploughman's son and the poor man's son from the benefit of -learning, as though they were unworthy to have the gifts of the Holy Ghost -bestowed upon them as well as upon others, was as much as to say that -Almighty God should not be at liberty to bestow His great gifts of grace -upon any person but as we and other men shall appoint them to be employed -according to our fancy, and not according to His most goodly will and -pleasure, who giveth His gifts of learning and other perfections in all -sciences unto all kinds and states of people indifferently."[127] - -There were always some who took the less liberal view which the archbishop -thus nobly rebuked. Even in the twelfth century, Walter Map (one of the -clerks in the civil service of Henry II., holding various ecclesiastical -preferments; he died in 1209) complains that villeins were attempting to -educate their "ignoble and degenerate offspring" in the liberal arts. - -The author of the "Vision of Piers Plowman" gives utterance to the same -illiberal prejudices as the noble colleagues of Cranmer. He thinks that -"Bondmen and beggars' children belong to labour, and should serve lords' -sons, and lords' sons should serve God, as belongeth to their degree;" and -complains that "bondmen's bairns should be made bishops, and that popes -and patrons should refuse gentle blood and take Symond's son to keep -sanctuary."[128] - -In another place the same writer says, in the same strain-- - - Now might each sowter[129] his son setten to schole - And each beggar's brat in the book learne, - And worth to a writer and with a lorde dwelle, - Or falsely to a frere the fiend for to serven. - So of that beggar's brat a Bishop that worthen, - Among the peers of the land prese to sytten; - And lorde's sons lowly to the lordes loute - Knyghtes crooketh hem to, and crowcheth ful lowe; - And his sire a sowter[129] y-soiled with grees, - His teeth with toyling of leather battered as a saw. - -The writer of "Symon's Lesson of Wisdom for Children," in a much more -genial spirit, jestingly encourages the children to be diligent in their -lessons by holding out the prize of succession to the see: - - And lerne as faste as thou can, - For our byshop is an old man, - And therfor thou must lerne faste - If thou wilt be byshop when he is past.[130] - -The better spirit prevailed. The lower classes had the inevitable -disadvantages of their origin to contend with, but every cathedral and -religious house had its schools, which were ready enough to admit boys who -were seen to possess those "gifts of the Holy Ghost" which might, if duly -cultivated, make them useful in Church and State; and it was regarded as -the duty of ecclesiastical persons to look out for such boys, and support -them in their career. Richard II. rejected a proposal to forbid villeins -to send their children to school "to learn clergee;" and the triumph of -the more liberal sentiment was legally secured by the Statute of -Artificers passed by Parliament in 1406, which enacted that "every man or -woman, of what state or condition he be, shall be free to set their son or -daughter to take learning at any school that pleaseth them within the -realm." - - * * * * * - -The career which was thus thrown open to all classes of the people was a -much larger one than appears at first sight. Not only all the offices and -dignities of the Church, from that of stipendiary chaplain to that of -bishop or even of Pope, were open to all comers, but also all the offices -of the State which required learning as a qualification were open to every -clerk. For the kings took the officials of the civil departments of the -Government very largely from the ranks of the clergy; and, by a great -abuse of their patronage, paid them for their services to the State by -promotion to the emoluments and dignities of the Church.[131] - -Some of the satirists found fault with this state of things, but, in fact, -the man of humble birth, who had risen to high rank in the Church by force -of his own learning and character, had little to fear from illiberal -reflections upon the lowliness of his origin. The men who had risen from -the grammar school of some village or obscure town to rank and wealth were -so far from trying to hide the obscurity of their origin, that it was the -general custom of dignified ecclesiastics to drop their patronymic and -take the name of their birthplace instead. Thus, he whom we familiarly -call Thomas--Becket was known to his contemporaries as Thomas of London; -the family name of Thomas of Rotherham, Archbishop of York, was Scot; the -family name of the illustrious bishop and statesman, William of Wyckham, -was Longe; and that of William of Wayneflete was Barlow.[132] Another good -custom was that such men frequently raised for themselves a lasting -monument in their native place by founding a free school in the village, -or a college or hospital in the town.[133] - -From the school of the cathedral or monastery, or of the parish priest, -the ambitious student whose means permitted it went to some more famous -centre of learning: in Saxon times, to the schools of Canterbury or York -or Winchester; in later times, to the universities which were organized -under the auspices of the Church in the various countries of Europe in the -twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Bologna was famous as a School of Law; -Paris took the lead in Theology; Salerno in Medicine. Here, in England, -Oxford and Cambridge were centres of learning at the close of the twelfth -century, and organized universities early in the thirteenth. Oxford in the -thirteenth century had a European reputation second only to that of Paris. - -The period from the awakening of new religious and scientific thought in -the eleventh century through the two following centuries, was one of great -intellectual activity throughout Europe. The isolated Saxon Church had -been little affected by the new learning; but the first Norman archbishop, -Lanfranc, was one of the foremost scholars of the time, and Anselm, his -successor, was more than that, being one of the greatest thinkers of -Christian Europe; and from their time onward Englishmen held a place among -the most learned men of Europe. - -In those days, as in these--and indeed in all days--men had different -natural temperaments--some a contemplative and spiritual disposition, some -an inquiring scientific turn of mind, others a rationalizing and practical -bias; some leaned upon authority, others were speculative and -self-confident. Great freedom of thought was permitted, and of the -expression of thought, and yet England was very little troubled by -heresies. From the beginning of the English Church to the beginning of the -Reformation of the sixteenth century, the excessive doctrines of -Lollardism in the fourteenth century--when they seemed to threaten the -very bases of social order both in Church and State--alone called forth -any serious action on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities against -the open expression of religious opinion. These ages, therefore, had their -various "schools of thought." - -The most prominent feature of this awakened, religious, and scientific -thought throughout Europe was the endeavour to give a rational exposition -of the doctrines of the Faith, and to organize them into a scientific -system; it pervaded more or less all the other schools of thought of these -ages. It will be enough to mention here the two great representatives of -the school. Peter Lombard, in the latter part of the twelfth century, -wrote "Quatuor Libri Sententiarum" (Four Books of Sentences), in which he -arranged under their various heads the opinions of some of the older -teachers, especially Augustine and Gregory the Great,[134] and of the -newer teachers, and sought to reconcile them by accurate distinctions into -a body of doctrine; he gathered together in compact brevity so rich a -store of matter, and treated it with so much sobriety and moderation, that -his work became a standard manual, adopted by the most distinguished -teachers, who were content to teach and write commentaries on the -"Sentences." "England alone is said to have produced no less than one -hundred and sixty-four writers, who illustrated this famous text-book." -The English Franciscan friar, Alexander of Hales (died 1245), was among -the most important representatives of the scholastic theology. The -greatest master of the school, however, was Thomas Aquinas, an Italian -Dominican friar, who wrote in the third quarter of the thirteenth century. -His "Summa Theologica" is the greatest work of its class, and served as a -text-book to the students of Europe throughout the subsequent ages.[135] - -Another school--of which Hugh, Canon of St. Victor in Paris (died 1141), -was an eminent leader--included frequently men of great intellectual -power, and skilled in the scholastic theology of their time; but the bent -of the school was towards spiritual contemplation and practical piety. -They drew their doctrines rather from the Bible itself and the older -Church teachers; they dwelt on the Divine perfections and on the relations -of the soul to God; their religion was of the affections rather than the -intellect. The college of St. Victor was for a long period a centre of -this school. Robert Pullein was an eminent representative of its teaching -at Oxford. Richard the Hermit, of Hampole, popularized its teachings in -the fourteenth century in numerous tractates written in English; and its -influence is easily recognized in many of the religious works of that and -the subsequent century. "The Imitation of Christ," by Thomas Kempis, a -good example of the school, is at this day the favourite devotional book -of tens of thousands of our devout people.[136] - -Other Englishmen, who were among the most famous of the learned men of -Europe, were John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan friar, who, at the end of the -thirteenth century, displayed a great genius for mathematical science; and -Roger Bacon (died 1292), another Franciscan, who possessed an -extraordinary genius for physical science, and Occham. These, and -such-like, were the men who ruled the thought of the time, and their -teachings were eagerly studied and reproduced in the cathedral and -monastic schools, and imbibed and assimilated by the scholars; and their -general principles at least tinctured the teaching of the parish priests -in their town parishes and country villages. - -The course of reading in the Schools was four years in grammar (_i.e._ -Latin language and literature), rhetoric, and logic, before the student -could be admitted a Bachelor; three years in science, viz. arithmetic, -music, geometry, and astronomy, before inception as a Master; seven years' -study before, as a Bachelor of Theology, he could lecture on the -"Sentences;"[137] and, lastly, he must study the Bible for three years, -and lecture on one of the Canonical Books, before he could take his degree -as a Doctor of Theology. - - * * * * * - -Students went up to the universities at an early age (fourteen or -fifteen), and they went in great numbers. In the thirteenth century there -were three thousand of them at Oxford. At first they lodged where they -pleased, and were under no special oversight and discipline; but soon the -university required that every student should be under the care of a -recognized tutor; and before long bishops and lay benefactors began to -build hostelries or halls, and to provide stipends for students; and out -of these arose the medival colleges, which provided a home and discipline -and tutors, and pecuniary help to poor students; Merton College, at -Oxford, was the earliest, founded by Walter of Merton, Bishop of Rochester -(1264). The friars, at an early date after their institution, sent their -more promising members to the universities; and they cultivated the study -of theology, philosophy, and natural science with so much success that -within a short time their teachers were famous in all the universities of -Europe, and members of their orders were promoted to the highest offices -in the Church. Among Archbishops of Canterbury, Richard of Kilwardby, a -Dominican, was succeeded by John of Peckham, a Franciscan. - - * * * * * - -Students of all nations flocked to the most famous seats of learning. -Latin was the language in which all instruction was given, and was the -_lingua franca_ of all who pretended to learning; the students from the -same country formed themselves into national clubs for mutual society and -protection. The phrase, "The Republic of Letters," in those days signified -a more real cosmopolitanism than in our days, when men go to their -national universities, and meet only their own countrymen there, and when -even learned men have not the habit of colloquial Latin. - -Our readers may remember Bishop Latimer's nave piece of autobiography in -a sermon before the king, which affords us an example of the farmer who -sent his clever son to the schools. "My father," he says, "was a yeoman, -and had no lands of his own; only he had a farm of three or four pounds by -the year at the uttermost, and hereupon he tilled so much as kept half a -dozen men. He had walk for a hundred sheep, and my mother milked thirty -kine. He was able, and did find the king a harness and his horse. I -remember that I buckled on his harness when he went to Blackheath field. -He kept me to school, or else I had not been able to have preached before -the king's majesty now. He married my sisters with five pounds, or twenty -nobles, each, having brought them up in godliness and fear of God. He kept -hospitality for his poor neighbours, and some alms he gave to the poor; -and all this he did of the said farm" ("Sermons," p. 101). - -Besides the youths whose fathers could afford to "keep them to school" out -of their own means, the system produced a great host of poor scholars, -many of whom out of term-time returned to their homes and supported -themselves by their labour; others, with or without a special licence -permitting them, travelled round the country, alone or in groups, asking -for contributions to help them to maintain themselves and complete their -education. Longfellow's "Spanish Student" and "Hyperion" help their -readers to realize the groups of students, some thoughtful and ambitious, -some full of the gaiety of youth, wandering from town to castle, from -monastery to manor house, asking alms with a laugh and jest; and the -knight and his lady gladly gave them supper and a shakedown in the hall, -for the sake of their hopeful youth; and the prior or rector gave them a -donation and a kind wish, with a wistful recollection of his own bygone -student days; and people of all classes gave a trifle, for it was a -recognized act of piety to help poor scholars. - -There are survivals to our own day. The clever Irish boys who used to be -picked out by their priests and sent to St. Omer's, where they were made -into scholars and Irish-French gentlemen--a charming type--some of whom -rose to high station in their church, is a thing of the recent past. In -Scotland, the schoolmaster is still on the outlook for those among his -peasant laddies who possess the natural qualities of a scholar; and the -minister is ready to give them the higher teaching where the dominie -halts; and not only the parents are filled with ambition that the boy -should succeed, but the whole village is proud of the honour reflected -upon his birthplace. - -Among this crowd of ambitious youths of all classes there were sure to be -some whose career would be wrecked, by failure in intelligence, industry, -and character, and these formed a rather numerous class of sham scholars -and worthless clerics of whom we get glimpses from time to time. - - In the Norwich Corporation records of 1521, is a copy of the - examination of Sir William Green, in whose sketch of his own life we - have a curiously detailed relation of the way in which many a poor - man's son became a scholar and a priest. He was the son of a labouring - man, Stephen-at-Grene, at Wantlet, in Lincolnshire, and learned - grammar for two years at the village school, and then went to day - labour with his father. Afterwards he removed to Boston, where he - lived with his aunt, labouring for his living and going to school as - he had opportunity. Being evidently a clerkly lad, he was admitted to - minor orders, up to that of acolyte, by "Friar Graunt," who was a - suffragan bishop in the diocese of Lincoln. After that, he went to - Cambridge, where he maintained himself partly by his labour, partly on - alms, and availed himself of the opportunities of learning which the - university afforded. At length he found an opportunity of going to - Rome with two monks of Whalley Abbey, probably as one of their - attendants; and there he endeavoured to obtain the order of - priesthood, which seems to have been bestowed rather indiscriminately - at Rome, and without a title; but in this he was unsuccessful. On his - return to England, he was for a short time thrown again on his labour - for his living; but, going to Cambridge, he obtained from the - vice-chancellor, Mr. Coney, a licence under seal to collect - subscriptions for one year towards an exhibition, to enable him to - complete his education and take his degree. Had he obtained money - enough, completed his education, and obtained ordination in due - course, it would have finished the story of a poor scholar in the - regular way; but he fell into bad hands, forged a new poor scholar's - letter, using the seal of the old letter, then letters of orders with - a forged seal, and then went about begging alms as a destitute - priest;[138] and we find him in the hands of the magistrates of - Norwich under the charge of being a spy. - -In the register of Lincoln diocese, in 1457, we find a record of one Hugh -Bernewell, an Irishman, who went about pretending to be a priest, and -undertaking to make a pilgrimage to Rome, and say prayers at the _Scala -Coeli_, for any who would pay him. He was found to be an impostor, and was -put in the pillory.[139] - - * * * * * - -The next step in the career of the parish priest was his ordination. We -have seen that he might receive the minor orders with little difficulty -while still a youth pursuing his studies; but when it came to the sacred -orders, he had to obtain a "title," _i.e._ a definite place in which to -exercise his ministry, and a competent maintenance to prevent the disgrace -which pauper clergymen would bring upon the Church. The bishop who -ordained a man without a title was liable to maintain him out of his own -purse, and there are instances of the enforcement of the liability. A -curious instance of it is recorded in the Register of Archbishop -Winchelsea of Canterbury, 1297, in a decree that the executors of a -bishop, who had ordained a priest without title, should provide for his -maintenance when afterwards he became, without his own fault, mutilated -so that he could no longer fulfil the office of priest. - -But a title was not always a cure of souls; any kind of ecclesiastical -benefice which afforded a prospect of maintenance was sufficient; for -example, membership of a convent or a hermitage. No doubt there were many -young men of good families who desired ordination, not with a view to cure -of souls, but with a view to being capable of holding ecclesiastical -benefices as the rewards of the career which they proposed to pursue in -the civil service of the Crown, or of great men. This partly accounts for -the ordinations _ad titulum patrimonii sui quo respondet se esse -contentum_ which are not uncommonly found in the Episcopal Registers, and -the similar ones _ad titulum_, of lands and of a ville of five marks of -annual rent, and of sixty shillings of annual pension, and the like.[140] -A great many poor men's sons also got little pensions as titles, and then -took chantry priest's places. - -The Rules of Examination for Orders were precise and the same in all -dioceses. The number of men ordained was very large, and went on rapidly -increasing through the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; for there were -four Orders to be ordained, Acolytes, Sub-deacons, Deacons, and Priests; -not only the parishes had to be supplied, but a proportion of the -inhabitants of religious houses were also ordained by the bishop on the -presentation of the abbot, the candidate's position in the house being a -sufficient title.[141] In these ordinations there were frequent -dispensations from canonical obstacles; servile condition, illegitimate -birth, personal blemish,[142] and insufficient learning. - -Some of the newly-ordained were at once instituted to benefices, and -licence of non-residence was given to a large proportion of the new -rectors, that they might go to school or university to acquire the -learning which they did not yet possess. - -[Illustration: ORDINATION OF A DEACON. FROM A PRINTED PONTIFICAL (471 f. -2), A.D. 1520.] - -In Bishop Langton's "Lichfield Registers" we find, in the single month of -February, 1300, licences were given on institution for one year's -study, to Alexander de Verdon, Rector of Biddulph, Roger Bagod, Rector of -Alvechurch, Nicholas de Aylesbury, Rector of Pattingham, Roger -Fitzherbert, Rector of Norbury, and Richard Birchal, Vicar of Tattenhill. -In the same month Richard Touchet, Rector of Middlewick, and Simon -Touchet, of Mackworth, were sent to college for two years, and Walter de -Fordinghay, Rector of Mackworth, for three years. In 1309, William de -Draco, a youth of fifteen, was, at the Pope's instance, licensed to hold a -benefice, and Conrad Homerschilt, a German, Rector of Filingley, got five -years' leave of studious absence.[143] - - * * * * * - -We will assume that the typical parish priest--whose parentage and -education at school and university we have seen, and whose fortunes we are -following--passed with credit the bishop's examination, was ordained -without having need to put in a dispensation for canonical impediments, -was instituted by the bishop without any wish for licence of -non-residence, then went off to his living, and was inducted into -possession of his church by the archdeacon, with a solemn sense of the -responsibilities he undertook, and an earnest desire to fulfil his duty. -It will be convenient to us here to divide our study of his life in the -parish under several headings: his house and furniture; dress and daily -life; and his duties as a parish priest. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -PARSONAGE HOUSES. - - -There is no reason to suppose that the houses of the parochial clergy -differed from those of lay people of corresponding income and social -position, except in the one circumstance that they sometimes had to -provide for the hospitality to travellers to which we will give special -consideration hereafter. - -The house of a rector, from Saxon times downwards, would be very like that -of a lay lord of a small estate, but it is very difficult for us, with our -ideas of absolutely necessary domestic accommodation, to realize how rude -and simple were then the houses of people of comparative wealth and social -position. The house consisted mainly of one room. This room, the hall, was -oblong in plan, constructed, except in districts where timber was scarce -and stone easily obtained, of timber framework, filled in with wattle and -clay, with a lofty unceiled roof. The windows were few and high up in the -side walls, not glazed until comparatively modern times, but closed on -occasion with shutters; a stone hearth stood in the middle of the hall, -with iron fire-dogs on which the burning logs rested. In the better class -of houses there was a raised das at the end furthest from the door, with -a long rude oak table on it, and a single chair for the master of the -house behind it; there were other tables of boards and trestles put up -when needed, and taken away again when done with, and a couple of rude -benches and a few stools; there was a cupboard near the "dormant table," -as Chaucer calls it, on which were displayed the pewter dishes, and horn -drinking-vessels, and in better houses, perhaps, a silver salt-holder, and -a couple of silver drinking-cups. When there was some pretension to -refinement, the roof-timbers would be moulded, the lower part of the walls -hung with tapestry, and rushes strewn on the floor by way of carpet; a low -screen of wood across the lower end of the hall at the same time made a -passage ("the screens") through the house by which people might pass to -the back premises without disturbing the company in the hall, and warded -off the draught from the ever-open door. Any one of the hundreds of old -halls which remain in all parts of the country may serve as an -illustration of this general plan. - -A separate building attached at right angles to the lower end of the hall, -and opening into the screens just mentioned, contained the cellar, -buttery, and kitchen, and might be prolonged to contain other offices, as -a brew-house, etc. Another separate building was attached at right angles -to the upper end of the hall, usually of two stories, with its gable to -the front; the lower story was often a storehouse, sometimes a "parlour," -the upper story "the great chamber"--the special apartment of the lady of -the house, and the one retiring room from the promiscuous company in the -hall. This room had perhaps a bay window in its gable, and would be -furnished with tapestry, and a few stools, a spinning-wheel, a couple of -carved oak chests, and cushions in the window-seats. - -As time went on, at the end of the thirteenth century, and in the -succeeding centuries, a greater refinement of domestic customs was -introduced, and other apartments were added.[144] In the fifteenth and -sixteenth centuries, the walls of the hall were built a little higher, and -an upper floor put in so as to convert the roof into a sleeping loft, -lighted by a couple of dormer windows; and this plan of a central hall -with a loft over, its longer side to the front, flanked by a two-story -building at one end with its gable to the front flush with the hall, and -another building at the other end of the hall containing the offices, was -the general plan of the houses of the middle classes of the people. -Thousands of them, more or less disguised by later additions, still remain -all over the country. - -[Illustration: Plan of Rectory House, West Dean, Sussex.] - -[Illustration: Rectory House, West Dean.] - -Few of the old rectory houses are left in their original condition. There -is a good example of the hall at Weston Turville, Bucks.[145] The -parsonage house at West Dean, Sussex, of the thirteenth century, is -described and figured in Turner's "Domestic Architecture." It is built of -stone; in plan a hall with a story over it, and the soler at the upper -end, approached by a stone newel stair built in a projecting buttress on -the north side. The windows of the story over the hall are lancets, those -of the hall have a curious kind of tracery. The upper chamber or soler has -a good fireplace and chimney-piece of stone, with deeply splayed windows. - -[Illustration: Pre-reformation Clergy House, Alfriston. (By kind -permission of the publishers of the _Builder_.)] - -There is a parsonage house at Alfriston, within three miles of Dean, -Sussex, of the fourteenth century, so unchanged and well preserved that it -has been made over to the National Trust for Preserving Places of Historic -Interest. It has the usual hall, constructed of oak framing, the -interstices being filled with "wattle and dab," open to the roof with -large cambered tie-beams and moulded king-posts. At the upper end of the -hall is the soler, of two stories. - -[Illustration: Pre-reformation Clergy House, Alfriston. (By kind -permission of the publishers of the _Builder_.)] - -There are others of stone at Congresbury (Somerset), King's Stanley -(Gloucester), Wonstone (Hants.), Notgrove (Gloucester); of timber at -Helmsley (Yorkshire); and many others. And, just as many farmhouses which -were once small manor houses still retain their ancient medival features -disguised by modern alterations, so there are many parsonage houses in -which the original house of the fourteenth or fifteenth century still -remains, and may be traced by a skilful eye amidst the subsequent -additions. - -We derive our fullest information about the old parsonage houses, however, -from literary sources, from the settlements of vicarages which describe -the old rectory house, or dictate how the new vicarage house shall be -built; from the old terriers which describe the then existing houses, and -from the inventories of wills which go from room to room, naming the -rooms, and detailing the furniture in them. - -Thus a deed of 1356 describes the rectory house of Kelvedon, in Essex, -existing at that date--and how long before that date we do not know--which -the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, in the settlement of a vicarage -there, assigned to the vicar as his residence. The deed describes it as-- - - One hall situate in the manor of the said abbot and convent near the - said church, with a soler and chamber at one end of the hall, and with - a buttery and cellar at the other. Also one other house[146] in three - parts, namely, a kitchen with a convenient chamber in the end of the - said house for guests, and a bakehouse. Also one other house in two - parts next the gate at the entrance of the manor for a stable and - cow-house. He (the vicar) shall also have a convenient grange, to be - built within a year at the expense of the prior and convent. He shall - also have the curtilage with the garden adjoining the hall on the - north side enclosed as it is with hedges and ditches.[147] - -The present vicarage house occupies the old site, and its offices, -gardens, and surroundings help to illustrate this description. - -In a deed of Richard of Thornely, Chaplain of Wasseford, it is stated that -when he was presented by the Prior and Convent of Hatfield to the vicarage -of Silverley, he bound himself by his own free will to build a house -there, with a hall, a chamber, and a kitchen.[148] - -In 1352, the Bishop of Winchester decreed that the Prior and Convent of -Merton, the impropriators of the benefice of Kingston-on-Thames, should -provide - - a competent manse for the vicar, viz. a hall with two rooms, one at - one end of the hall, and the other at the other end, with a drain to - each, and a suitable kitchen with fireplace and oven, and a stable for - six horses, all covered with tiles, and completed within one year, - such place to remain to the use of the said vicar and his - successors.[149] - -The deed of settlement of the vicarage of Bulmer, Essex, in 1425, -describes the vicarage house as consisting of-- - - one hall with two chambers annexed, bakehouse, kitchen, and - larder-house, one chamber for the vicar's servant, and a hay-soller - (soler = loft), with a competent garden.[150] - -Ingrave Rectory house is described in the terrier of 1610 as-- - - a house containing a hall, a parlour, a buttery, two lofts, and a - study, also a kitchen, a milk-house, and a house for poultry, a barn, - a stable, and a hay-house.[151] - -Ingatestone Rectory house, in the terrier of 1610, is described as-- - - a dwelling house with a hall, a parlour, and a chamber within it; a - study newly built by the then parson; a chamber over the parlour, and - another within that with a closet; without the dwelling-house a - kitchen, and two little rooms adjoining it, and a chamber over them; - two little butteries over against the hall, and next them a chamber, - and one other chamber over the same; without the kitchen there is a - dove-house, and another house built by the then parson; a barn and a - stable very ruinous.[152] - -Here we have an old house with hall in the middle, parlour and chamber at -one end, and butteries and kitchen at the other, in the middle of later -additions. - -Mr. Froude gives an inventory, dated 1534, of the goods of the Rector of -Allington, Kent, from which we take only the incidental description of the -house which contained them.[153] - - It consisted of hall, parlour, and chamber over the parlour, - stairs-head beside the parson's bed-chamber, parson's lodging-chamber, - study, chamber behind the chimney, chamber next adjoining westward, - buttery, priest's chamber [perhaps for the rector's chaplain[154]], - servants' chamber, kitchen, mill-house, boulting house, larder, - entries, women's chamber; gate-house, still beside the gate; barn next - the gate; cartlage, barn next the church, garden-house, court. - -Here, again, we recognize the hall in the middle, the parlour and chamber -over it at one end, with an adjoining study on the ground floor, and a -chamber over it, as at Ingatestone, and at the other end the buttery, -kitchen, larder, mill, boulting houses, with a priest's chamber, and a -servants' chamber over it, women's chamber over the kitchen, etc.; and we -observe that the additional chambers for the master of the house and his -family are grouped about the parlour and great chamber, while the chambers -for guests and servants are added to the kitchen and offices at the lower -end of the hall. These two projections backward would partially enclose a -courtyard at the back of the hall. - -The rectory at Little Bromley, Essex, is described (1610) as-- - - a large parsonage house compass'd with a mote, a gate-house, with a - large chamber, and a substantial bridge of timber adjoining it; a - little yard, an orchard and a little garden all within the mote, - which, together with the circuit of the house, contains about half an - acre of ground; and without the mote there is a yard in which there is - another gate-house, and a stable, and a hay-house adjoining, also a - barn of twenty-five yards long, and nine yards wide, and about - seventy-nine and a half acres of glebe land.[155] - -North Benfleet Rectory is described as consisting of-- - - a hall with a loft over it, two cross ends, with lofts and chambers, a - kitchen with a hen-house, a barn and a little stable at the end of it, - built in ancient time, a garden made, an orchard planned, a milk-house - and a dove-house.[156] - -West Hanningfield is described as-- - - one dwelling-house tiled, having in it a hall with a loft over it for - corn, a closet in the hall, two butteries, with a loft over them for - servants' lodging, an entry, a large parlour, with two lodging - chambers over it for servants, a study new built, also a kitchen - tiled, with a corn-loft over it, a boulting-house with a cheese-loft - over it, a brew-house newly set up, with a fair corn-lift over it, and - a garret over that, and a hen-house tiled at the end of it, a barn - newly built, and a porch thatched, a hay-house at the end of it, a - hogs'-coat boarded, a stable, a quern-house, two small cotes to fat - fowl in, a cow-house newly built, with a cart-house at the end of it; - another cart-house newly built with a room over it to hold hay; one - large hay-house with a cart-house at the end of it; another cart-house - newly built; a gate-house, wherein is a milk-house, with a loft over - it for cheese and fish; the site of the house and yards with two - gardens contains two roods.[157] - -We easily recognize the normal plan of the house; the large accommodation -outside--some of it new--for carts and hay, and for the storing of corn -inside the house, indicates that the rector was farming on rather a large -scale. - - * * * * * - -We have seen in the foregoing description of the vicarage house at -Kelvedon, Essex, that a special chamber was provided for the -entertainment of guests, and at Kingston-on-Thames a stable for six horses -was attached to the vicarage house. This was no doubt needed because the -one was on the high-road from London into Essex, and the other on the -high-road from London into Surrey, and so westward, and the accommodation -was needed for travellers. In those times there were no inns at convenient -distances along the main roads of the country, nor even in the towns, -except in some of the largest. Few people travelled except on business, so -that hospitality was little liable to abuse; and travellers sought -entertainment for man and horse at the monasteries and the parsonage -houses. - -It was regarded as a duty of the clergy to "entertain strangers," and to -be "given to hospitality;" and the duty was fulfilled ungrudgingly, -without fee or reward, and entailed a heavy charge upon the income of the -clergy. One of the common reasons which a monastery[158] alleges for -asking the bishop to allow them to impropriate an additional benefice is -that their expenditure on the entertainment of travellers is beyond their -means; the country rectors, also, in their remonstrance against the -exactions of the popes, complain that they will be left without means to -fulfil their duty of hospitality;[159] and the matter is very frequently -alluded to and illustrated by examples in medival history. Off the great -roads, the rector would put an extra pewter platter and horn drinking-cup -on the board for an accidental passenger who claimed hospitality--he -brought his own knife, and there were no forks--and gave him a liberal -"shakedown" of clean straw, or at best a flock mattress, in a corner of -the hall. But, just as in the monasteries it was necessary to have a -special guest-house for travellers, so that they should not interfere with -the seclusion of the religious, so it would seem at the rectories along -the great roads it was necessary that there should be special provision -made for the frequent influx of guests. This is the explanation of the -chamber for guests at Kelvedon, and for the vicar's six-stall stable at -Kingston. - - * * * * * - -It is clear that some of the rectory houses thus described were like some -of the smaller manor houses, enclosed by moat or wall, and the entrance -protected by a gate-house, and that the house contained all the -accommodation needed by a small squire.[160] But there were smaller -houses more suited to the means of a poor vicar or a parish chaplain.[161] -Thus, on the settlement of the Vicarage of Great Bentley, Essex, in 1323, -it was required that a competent house should be built for the vicar, with -a sufficient curtilage, where the parish chaplain has been used to abide. -At the settlement of the Vicarage of St. Peter's, Colchester, the -impropriators, the Convent of St. Botolph, were required to prepare a -competent house for the vicar in the ground of the churchyard, where a -house was built for the parish chaplain. At Radwinter, Essex, in 1610, -there were two houses attached to the benefice, on the south side of the -church towards the west end, one called "the Great Vicarage, and in -ancient time the _Domus Capellanorum_, and the other the Less Vicarage," -which latter "formerly served for the ease of the parson; and, as appears -by evidence, first given to the end that if any of the parish were sick, -the party might be sure to find the parson or his curate near the church, -ready to go and visit him." There are little houses in some churchyards -which may have been houses for the parish chaplain. At Laindon, Essex, a -small timber-house is built on to the west end of the church.[162] The -Chapel of our Lady at Great Horkesley, Essex, has the west end walled off -and divided into two stories for a priest's residence.[163] - -[Illustration: Laindon Church, Essex.] - - * * * * * - -The question of dilapidations of the parsonage house and its dependent -buildings is not a matter of much general interest, but it was then, as it -is now, of much practical importance to the beneficed clergy, and it is -worth while to say a few words about it. We find examples in the episcopal -registers which we assume represent the universal practice. - -In the register of John de Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter, June 21, 1328, a -commission was issued to inquire into the defects in the church and its -furniture and the manse of the Rectory of Lydeford, by the carelessness -and neglect of Stephen Waleys, late deceased. The commissioners were -laudably prompt in action, for, on the 4th July, they made their return of -defects, etc., to the amount of 42_s._; and the bishop at once issued his -mandate that the amount should be paid out of the goods of the defunct -rector.[164] There was a similar process in the same year at Didesham. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -FURNITURE AND DRESS. - - -There was a continual fight going on all through the Middle Ages between -the rulers of the Church and the rest of their brethren on the subject of -the ordinary costume of the clergy. It seems to have been a part of the -Hildebrandine plan of making the secular clergy a kind of semi-monastic -order. Wherever there is a strong canon on enforcing celibacy, there we -are sure to find another canon enjoining a well-marked tonsure, and -forbidding long hair, and worldly fashions of dress and ornaments. - -[Illustration: Consecration of Archbishop Thomas Becket. (MS., Royal 2 B., -vii.)] - -It is not worth while to trouble the reader with a long series of laws and -canons; it will be enough to quote one which condescends to be -argumentative and persuasive as well as minatory. It is from the -"Injunctions of John Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury," made at St. -Paul's Cathedral, in A.D. 1342. - - The external costume often shows the internal character and condition - of persons; and although the behaviour of clerks ought to be an - example and pattern of lay people, yet the abuses of clerks, which - have prevailed more than usual in these days, in tonsure, clothing, - horse trappings, and other things, have created an abominable scandal - among the people; because persons holding ecclesiastical dignities, - rectories, honourable prebends, and benefices with cure of souls, even - men in Holy Orders, scorn to wear the tonsure, which is the crown of - the kingdom of heaven and of perfection, and distinguish themselves by - hair spreading to the shoulders in an effeminate manner, and walk - about clad in a military rather than a clerical dress, with an outer - habit very short and tight-fitting, but excessively wide, with long - sleeves which do not touch the elbow; their hair curled and perfumed - (?), their hoods with lappets of wonderful length; with long beards, - rings on their fingers, and girded belts studded with precious stones - of wonderful size, their purses enamelled and gilt with various - devices, and knives openly hanging at them like swords, their boots of - red and green peaked and cut in many ways; with housings to their - saddles, and horns hanging from their necks; their capes and cloaks so - furred, in rash disregard of the canons, that there appears little or - no distinction between clergymen and laymen; whereby they render - themselves unworthy through their demerits of the privilege of their - order and profession. Wherefore we decree that they who hold - ecclesiastical benefices in our province, especially if ordained to - Holy Orders, do wear the garments and tonsure proper to their - condition, but if they offend by using any of the foresaid abuses, too - wide sleeves or too short outer coats, or long hair, or untonsured - head, or long beard, and do not when admonished desist within six - months, they shall incur suspension from their office until absolved - by the bishop--to whom their absolution is reserved--when they shall - forfeit a sixth of one year's income from their ecclesiastical - benefices to the poor of their benefices; and if while the suspension - lasts, they perform any act of their office they shall be deprived. - [On the other hand] unbeneficed clerks publicly and habitually - carrying themselves like clerks, if they exceed in these things, and - do not, when admonished, correct themselves within four months, shall - not be capable of holding a benefice. If living in universities, and - bearing themselves as clerks, they offend in these respects, they - shall be incapable of ecclesiastical degrees or honours. Yet we intend - not to abridge clerks of open wide surcoats called table-coats with - fitting sleeves to be worn at seasonable times and places, nor of - short and close garments while travelling in the country at their own - discretion. Ordinaries are commanded to make inquiry by themselves or - by others every year, and to see that this canon is observed.[165] - -[Illustration: ARCHDEACON, CLERGY IN SECULAR COSTUME. XIV. CENT. MS., 6 E -VII., f. 197.] - -[Illustration: ARCHDEACON AND CLERGY. XIV. CENT. MS., 6 E VI., f. 132.] - -We shall see hereinafter that by ages of worrying legislation the canons -succeeded in compelling the clergy to keep their wives _in petto_; but the -sumptuary canons were a dead failure. - -The authorities made attempts to get them observed. It is related that at -a certain Visitation, the bishop ordered the canon to be read and then had -the hair of the clergy cut short on the spot. Grostete of Lincoln refused -to institute to a cure of souls a deacon who came to him untonsured, -dressed in scarlet, and wearing rings, in the habit and carriage of a -layman, or rather of a knight, and almost illiterate.[166] Some of the -vicars of York Cathedral[167] were presented to the bishop in 1362 "for -being in the habit of going through the city in short tunics ornamentally -trimmed, with knives and basilards hanging at their girdles." Similarly, -in the diocese of Bath and Wells, from an inquiry made by Bishop -Beckington (1443-1465), we learn that the vicars of the cathedral affected -the dress of the laity: they had the collars of their doublets high and -standing up like lawyers, and the collars of their gowns and cloaks very -short and low; against which practices the bishop made ordinances. - -Many of the clergy, however, persisted in wearing the same sort of clothes -as their neighbours of similar position in society, very much as they do -now, with little differences which were enough to mark their clerical -character. They wore the tonsure--the complaint was they would not make -it larger, like the monks; they wore a special head-covering--or some of -them did--which is mentioned in their Wills as a "priest's bonnet;"[168] -but they persisted in wearing their hair cut like other people's, and -short-skirted coats when it was convenient; their ordinary dress was of -red or blue, or half a dozen other colours, instead of grey or black; and -nothing could prevent them from wearing "zones" ornamented with silver, -and a basilard--a hanger, or short sword--hanging at their silver zone, -instead of a girdle of leather and a pair of beads. The mention of -coloured gowns (togas) and of silver zones and basilards[168] in the wills -of the clergy is so general as to produce the conviction that the wearing -of them by the more well-to-do of the secular clergy was almost universal. - - * * * * * - -In the illuminated MSS. of all ages there are to be found representations -of the secular clergy not only in their official robes, but also in their -ordinary dress. The best and clearest examples of these which we have met -with are in the Catalogue[169] of Benefactors of the Abbey of St. Albans, -already quoted, and we are able to give engravings[170] of some of them. - -[Illustration: Sir Richard de Threton.] - -[Illustration: Sir Bartholomew de Wendon.] - -On fol. 100 v. is a portrait of one Lawrence, a clerk, who is dressed in a -brown gown (toga); another clerk, William by name, is in a scarlet gown -and hood. On fol. 93 v. Leofric, a deacon, is in a blue gown and hood. The -first of the accompanying engravings from fol. 105 represents Dom. -Ricardus de Threton, sacerdos--Sir Richard Threton, priest--who was -executor of Sir Robert de Thorp, knight, formerly chancellor of the king, -who gave twenty marks to the convent. In the illumination, the gown and -hood are of full bright blue, lined with white; the under sleeves which -appear at the wrists are of the same colour; and the shoes are red. The -next illustration from fol. 106 v. represents Dom. Bartholomeus de -Wendone, rector of the church of Thakreston, and the character of the face -leads to the conclusion that it is a portrait, and to the conjecture that -all the others were intended to be so. His gown, hood, and sleeves are -scarlet, with black shoes. Another rector, on fol. 105, Dom. Johannes -Rodland, rector of the church of Todyngton, has a green gown and scarlet -hood. Still another rector of the church of Little Waltham is represented -at half length in pink gown and purple hood. On fol. 108 v. is the -full-length portrait of Dom. Rogerus, chaplain of the chapel of the Earl -of Warwick at Flamsted; over a scarlet gown, of the same fashion as those -in the preceding pictures, he wears a pink cloak lined with blue; the hood -is scarlet of the same suit as the gown; the buttons at the shoulder of -the cloak are white (perhaps silver), the shoes red. It will be observed -that they all wear the moustache and beard. - -[Illustration: Sir Roger, Chaplain.] - -The priest on horseback represents John Ball, who was concerned in Wat -Tyler's rebellion. He is in a churchyard, preaching from the pulpit of his -saddle to a crowd of people on the left side of the picture. - - * * * * * - -The subject receives some illustration from literary sources; the -"Instructions to Parish Priests" enjoins-- - - In honeste clothes thow muste gon - Basdard ne bawdryke were thou non. - -But "Piers Plowman" notes their contrary practice. It would be better, he -says-- - - If many a priest bare for their baselards and their brooches - A pair of beads in their hand and a book under their arm. - Sire John and Sire Geffrey hath a girdle of silver, - A baselard and a knife, with botons over gilt. - -[Illustration: John Ball, priest. (From MS. of Froissart's "Chronicle.")] - -A little later he speaks of proud priests habited in patlocks (a short -jacket worn by laymen), with peaked shoes and large knives or daggers. - -In the poems of John Audelay, in the fifteenth century, a parish priest is -described in-- - - His girdle harneshed with silver, his baselard hangs by. - -Examples will be found in the Wills and Inventories, which we have placed -at the end of this chapter (p. 173, etc.). We may add here that the silver -ornaments of these zones were probably plates more or less ornamented with -repouss work and sometimes with enamel and precious stones; that the -plates must have been of considerable substance is indicated by the -following-- - - Thomas Sufwyk, Rector of Burton Noveray (not dated--c. 1390), leaves - to his parish church his great missal and best vestment, and also his - best silver zone to make a chalice.[171] - -Sometimes a clergyman had not only a basilard habitually hanging at his -girdle, but also a sword for use on occasion. Chaucer says-- - - Bucklers brode and swerdes long - Baudrike with baselardes kene - Sech toles about her necke they hong: - With Antichrist seche prestes been. - -Robert Newby, Rector of Whyttchurche, and official of the Archdeacon of -Oxford, in his will made in 1412, leaves to his brother his best sword, -and to his niece his scarlet gown;[172] and in the wills subsequently -given it will be seen that the Vicar of Gaynford, in 1412, leaves his best -suit of armour and all his arrows; the Rector of Scrayningham, in 1414, -leaves a suit of armour; and the dean of the collegiate church at Auckland -leaves his best sword and a complete suit of armour.[173] - -There are some quaint illustrations of these offending clergymen in the -MSS. so often quoted here, Royal 6 E. VI., and 6 E. VII. _Clerici -pugnantes in duello_ at 6 E. VI., f. 302 _verso_; _Clericus venator_ at f. -303 _verso_. Under the title _De habitu Clericorum_, in 6 E. VII. f. 197, -there are three clerics on the left properly habited in red tunic and blue -cloak and blue tunic and red cloak, and on the right three startling -examples of the costume against which the Canons wage war, of short tunics -and belted swords. See Plate. - - * * * * * - -Here are some brief extracts from various wills[174] which bear upon the -subject. - - In the Bury St. Edmunds Wills, Adam de Stanton, a chaplain, A.D. 1370, - bequeaths one girdle with purse and knife valued at 5_s._, a - considerable sum in those days. In the York wills, John Wyndhill, - Rector of Arnecliffe, A.D. 1431, leaves an amber pair of beads, such - as Piers Plowman says a priest ought "to bear in his hand, and a book - under his arm;" and, curiously enough, in the next sentence, he leaves - an English book of "Piers Plowman;" but he does not seem to have been - much influenced by the popular poet's invectives, for he goes on to - bequeath two green gowns, and one of murrey, and one of sanguine - colour, besides two of black, all trimmed with various furs; also one - girdle of sanguine silk ornamented with silver gilded; and another - zone of green and white, ornamented with silver gilded; and he also - leaves his best silver girdle and a baselard with ivory and silver - handle. John Gilby, Rector of Knesale, A.D. 1434-35, leaves a red toga - furred with bryce, a black zone of silk with gilt bars, and a zone - ornamented with silver. J. Bagale, Rector of All Saints, York, A.D. - 1438, leaves a little basilard with a zone harnessed with silver to - Sir T. Astell, a chaplain. W. Duffield, a chantry priest at York, A.D. - 1443, leaves a black zone silvered, a purse called a "gypsire," and a - white purse of "burdeux." W. Swerd, chaplain, leaves to H. Hobshot a - hawk-bag, and to W. Day, parochial chaplain of Calton, a pair of - hawk-bag rings, and to J. Sarle, chaplain, "my ruby zone silvered, and - my toga furred with bevers;" and to the wife of J. Bridlington a ruby - purse of satin. R. Rollerton, provost of the church of Beverley, A.D. - 1450, leaves a "toga lunata" with a red hood, a toga and hood of - violet, a long toga and hood of black trimmed with martrons, and a - toga and hood of violet. J. Clyft, chaplain, A.D. 1455, leaves a zone - of silk ornamented with silver. - -The following extracts from wills of clergymen are full of points of -interest, which want of space compels us to leave, without note or -comment, to the reader's discrimination:-- - - Roger de Kyrby, Perpetual Vicar of Gaynford, 1412, leaves his body to - be buried in the choir of his parish church, near the altar, on the - south side [where it still lies, with an inscription on a brass plate - on the stone which covers his grave]. To a priest to celebrate for his - soul and the souls of all the faithful departed for three years after - his burial, 15. To the Abbot and Convent of Eglyston, 20_s._ To every - priest of Castle Barnard present at his obsequies, 2_s._; to every - other priest present, 12_d._; to be distributed on the day of his - burial four marks. He leaves to the chapel of Castle Barnard a - "Legenda Aurea" to Sir John Drawlace, junior chaplain, a book which is - called "Gemma Ecclesi," and all his other books he gives and - bequeaths to William de Kirkby, son of Ada de Kyrkby, my late brother, - "and this if it so happen that he shall have been made a presbyter, - but if not they shall be sold and the price of them given for my - soul," as his executor shall think best. He leaves to Sir Thomas of - Langton, chaplain, a toga of sanguine color furred; a chalice worth - 40_s._, or 40_s._ of English money (_monet Angli_), to keep up the - altar light of the blessed Mary of Castle Barnard. He leaves to - William, his brother, a horse, viz. Bay, and 20_s._; to Thomas de - Kyrkby, his cousin (_cognatus_), 6 stone of wool and 2 marks; to - Richard de Kyrkby, his _cognatus_, a cow, viz. the best, and a bed - suited to his condition, and 4 stone of wool, with 20_s._; to - Elizabeth, his _cognata_, a younger cow, a basin and ewer and a bed - suited to her, and 2 stone of wool, with 13_s._ 4_d._ To Thomas of - Gedworth, his chamberlain, a grey horse, a cow, a red bed, and all his - arrows, a best hauberk, a "brestplate," and a pair of vambraces and - also of rerebraces, a pair of "Whysshewes Grenyce," a basinet with - aventale, and a pair of gauntlets of plate, and 20_s._ He leaves to - Henry Smyth 9 matrices (ewes?), with 5 lambs, or the price of them, - and two pair of sheets, and 6_s._ 8_d._ He leaves to Thomas de Kyrkby, - clerk, a green toga and 6_s._ 8_d._ To Alice Kyrkby, his brother's - widow, 12 best silver spoons worth 36_s._, and a covered piece of - silver (_unam peciam coopertam argenteam_) ... and a best bed, with 4 - marks of lawful money (_monet legalis_). He leaves to John Drawlace, - junior, chaplain, a silver piece not covered, and 6 silver spoons, and - a best toga. To Thomas Sowrale, chaplain, another toga, viz. of - Sendry, and a piece not covered, and 6 silver spoons. The rest of all - my goods he gives and bequeaths to the foresaid John Drawlace and - Thomas Sowrale, chaplains. Inventory:--In told money (_pecunia - numerata_), 36 13_s._ 4_d._; 3 pieces of silver with covers, 11 - marks, 6_s._ 8_d._; 2 pieces without covers, 12_s._; a silver-gilded - zone, 5 marks; another silver zone, 10_s._; 3 silver basilards, 2_s._ - 4_d._; a pair of bedes of amber and an Agnus Dei, 10_s._; two beds of - red colour covered with tapestry, 20_s._; two beds sanguine, 10_s._; a - little bed of sanguine worstett, 6_s._ 8_d._; a white bed, 3_s._ - 4_d._; 2 coverlets (coopercla), 6_s._; a whylt with 4 materesse, 6_s._ - 8_d._; 14 "lodices," 14_s._; 19 pair of sheets, 31_s._ 8_d._; a mantle - of red "fresed," 20_s._; 3 furred gowns, 40_s._; a "pylche of - stranlion," 20_s._; 3 _tog singul_, 13_s._ 4_d._; 4 ells of woollen - cloth, viz. of sendry colour with a web of russet, 26_s._ 8_d._; - "_armatura_," 26_s._ 8_d._; 8 lb. of wax, 4_s._; a pair of - trussyngcofers, 4_s._; a wyrehatte, 5_s._; total, 62 6_s._ 8_d._ In - the _hall_, 2 dorsors with a banwher (banker),[175] 13_s._ 4_d._; 12 - whysshynes (cushions), 12_s._; 2 tables with trestles, 12_s._; a - cupboard (coppeburd), 6_s._ 8_d._; 2 basins and ewers, 4_s._ In the - _cellar_, a napkin (mappa) with 1 towel newly made, 3_s._; 10 old - napkins with 3 towels, 2_s._ 6_d._; 38 ells of linen cloth, 11_s._ - 1_d._; 3 pair of silver knives, 6_s._ 8_d._; 9 ells of linen cloth of - lake, 4_s._ 6_d._; 2 barrels and 4 stands, 2_s._ In the _kitchen_, 7 - brass pots, 7_s._; 4 griddles (_patell_), 2_s._ 6_d._; 1 "_veru - ferreum_," 8_d._; 2 "dresshyng knyves," 7_d._; one lead (_unum - plumbum_) containing 32 bottles (lagenas), with 3 small leads, 8_s._; - 2 dozen _vasorum de electro_, 20_s._; a dozen of old _vasorum_, 6_s._ - 8_d._; 5 plates (_perapsides_) and 10 dishes (_disci_), 2_s._; a - frying-pan, 6_d._; a Rostyngiryn, 4_d._ In the _stable_, 2 grey - palfreys, 4; 2 horses, 26_s._ 8_d._; a mare, 4_s._ 4_d._; 5 saddles - with 4 bridles, 16_s._ 8_d._; a cart bound with iron with all fittings - (_omni apparatu_), 16_s._; 3 cows, 20_s._; 15 pigs with 5 little pigs, - 30_s._; 1 boar, 6_s._ 8_d._ _Granary_, 10 quart' of malt (_brasii - mixti_), 33_s._ 4_d._; wheat, barley, oats and peas not ground, 8. - Owing to him, 10 10_s._; 10 stone of iron, 5_s._; other utensils, - 10_s._; sum total, 99 11_s._ 3_d._[176] - - Peter de Bolton, Rector of Scrayngham, diocese of York (1414), leaves - 2-1/2 silver marks to the glass windows on the south side of the - chancel of his church. To the poor parishioners of Howshom and - Scrayngham, 20_s._ between them. For wax to be burned around his body - on the day of his burial, 10 lb. in 5 wax candles and 2 torches; to - the chaplain celebrating Divine service for one year in the said - chancel for the safety of his soul, 100_s._ "if my goods amount to - such a sum when my debts are paid." To the foresaid church of - Scrayngham a chalice and a white vestment (_vestimentum_) with a - chasuble (_casula_) powdered with red roses, and with albe, amice, - stole, and fanula (_maniple_), and corporal, with "_singulo_" and - frontal of the same work, and towell (tuall') annexed to the frontal, - with another tuall' for the altar; provided that the parishioners of - the said church of Scrayngham grant to him an old chasuble (_casula_), - in which I intend to be buried. He leaves to John Haydok 40_s._ for - his support at the schools; to William Bugdeyn 6_s._ 8_d._; to Alice - Laycester, of York, a toga talarem, long, reaching to the ancles of - tawny; to his clerk a hauberk (_lorica_), with ventaled basenet, a - pair of vanbraces and a pair of rerebraces, and a pair of gauntlets of - plate; to Robert Rokesby, servant of Master Robert Ragonhyll, 6_s._ - 8_d._; to the said Master Robert Ragonhyll, 13_s._ 4_d._; to Thomas - Byrkdale, my cousin, a basilard ornamented with silver and 6_s._ - 8_d._; to the wife of William Bugden, 40_d._; to Robert Saundby, - 2_s._; to Master John Stanton, 6_s._ 8_d._; to Sir Gilbert Haydok, - knyght, all my vessels of pewter; the rest to my executors.[177] - - Stephen le Scrop, Archdeacon of Richmond (1418), leaves, to the high - table of the altar of the church of St. Peter of York, my great jewel, - _ordinatum pro corpore Xti._ (to be appropriated to the Pyx?), and - three silver chargers of the best of my vessels, and a gold crucifix, - and an entire vestment of red cloth of gold with two copes of the same - suit.... To the fabric of the said church, 20; to each residentiary - canon with the precentor of the said church present at my obit, 6_s._ - 8_d._; to each parson, 2_s._; to each vicar, 20_d._; to each deacon, - sub-deacon, and thuribularius of the said church present at my obit, - 12_d._; to the sacrist, 10_s._; to the clerks (_clerus vestibuli_) of - the said church, 10_s._; to the "_mumdator_," 2_s._ To each of my - churches of Esyngwald, Knaresburgh, Thorntonsteward, Clapham, Bolton, - Arlecden, and Tallagham 10 marks, or a vestment of the value of 10 - marks; to my church of Horneby, 5 marks; to my church of Bishophill, 5 - marks, or a vestment at the discretion of my executors. To the - monastery of the blessed Mary of York, 40_s._, provided they ring and - celebrate my obit; to the friars of St. Leonard of York, 20_s._, - provided they ring and celebrate my obit; to the house of Monkton, - 100_s._, and 2 pieces of silk of red and green colour, for the high - altar; to every house of monks (_monalium_), and to each house of - friars within my archdeaconry, 20_s._; to the friars of St. Robert of - Knaresburgh, 40_s._; to his lady mother, a golden covered ciphum (cup) - with the inscription on the cover Good zere to his brother William, 12 - best silver dishes (discos) and 12 best silver "saucers;" to his - sister Matilda, 10 marks and a covered silver ciphum with the - inscription BENEDICTUS QUI VENIT IN NOMINE DOMINI, and a tablet of - ivory of two leaves bound with silver; to Master John Ermyn, his - official, a covered silver ciphum with the inscription CUJUS FINIS - BONUS TOTUM IPSUM BONUM, and a silver salt cellar (_salsarium_) not - covered; to Sir William Bamburgh a covered silver cipum with the name - JESUS on the top; to Master Peter Meland, a covered silver ciphum with - knop on the top; to the Hall of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary, - in Cambridge, in which _habitavi_ his Catholicon, etc., and a tall - silver-gilt covered ciphum with a long foot and _signatum_ with "ivyn - leves" (ivy leaves); to Brian of Plumpton, 10 and a covered silver - ciphum, with the arms of Yvo Souche on the top; to William Normanvyle, - 10 marks and a best ciphum not covered.... To John Semer, his - chamberlain, his best scarlet robe with _armilansa_, tabard, hood, and - their _pumates_, and fur trimmings, and 100_s._, Stephen del Courte, - armiger, John Hewet, his clerk, William Heth, Henry of the Kitchen, - Robert del Myre, William of the Chamber, Peter of the Kichen, William - Lynne, Walter Flette, his clerk, Godfrey the Cook, John Percy, Robert - of the Bakehouse, John Brod, Robert Walton, Robert Scolle, page of his - chamber, Thomas Baker; and whatever day of the year he may die that - the fees or wages of his servants be paid in full for that whole year. - Also he leaves a silver-gilt chalice cup, with a long foot, with a - knop at the top, a homiletorium and pair of gold beads, a pair of - beads of coral ornamented with gold and knops of perrle, 2 silver-gilt - covered ciphum of a suit, viz. chalice cups with knops of azure; 6 - dishes and 6 "saucers" of silver, with his arms, to John Newhouse, - chaplain; 8 marks a year for 5 years to celebrate at the altar of St. - Stephen,[178] in the Church of York, for the souls of himself, his - parents, brothers, sisters, his lord the archbishop, William Plumpton, - his friends, his servants, and of all the faithful departed, and that - he say daily the _exequi defunctorum_. Also to William Tadcaster, - chaplain, the same sum for the same duties. 10 marks to the poor at - his burial. He leaves books of Sextum and the Constitutions of Otho - and Othobon, with John Aton, Decretales, Decreta, Hostiensis, to - friends for life, and afterwards to the Library of York. - - Thomas Hebbeden, Dean of the collegiate church of St. Andrew, of - Aukland, leaves to John Holhom, his nephew, his best sword and _unam - integram armaturam_.[179] - - Sir Richard Towgall, priest, 1441 (apparently a chantry priest at one - of the altars in Gateshead Church), leaves "unto Sir Johane huchinson, - my sister's soone, my best govne, and another govne that was Sir - Will'm Goolands, my best tippett, the best bonet, ... a rachytt, a - hangher, a mesbooke, a manuall, a doseyn aum' beids with a gyemis - ring, and all my books, with my bedde, that is to know a ffedour - bedde, a bowster, 2 codds ... blankets, 2 coverletts, 2 scheyts.... To - Robert huchinson my second gown, two dovbletts, and my hose. To the - aforesayd Robert's wyfe, a govn whiche I ware on Sondays, and to bessy - chawmere, my blake govne. I give unto Jennet appelbe a yron chimnaye, - a coffer, and a mantil. Unto Marg, his sistar, a counter and a pair of - amber (avmer) bedys garded with silver gardis. To St. Cuthbart's - gilde, if it shall go on, 2 westments with ther albs, 2 altare - cloythes, 1 towell, 2 candlesticks, 1 antiphonal, 1 prosessiner, a - dirige book, and a pax. To Jennet Wawton 111_d._ and my dayly govne. - My chalys unto the chirche of this condition, and if it please God - that thair fawll a chantre within this forsayth chirche beyinge at the - p'oshinars gyfte, and the p'oshinars be so good unto my cousinge, Sir - Johane, as to gyve and promote hym beforr another, this doven, than - this chalys to stand as gyft, and if not, to go to my executors."[180] - - By his will, dated 1491, Sir John Newys, Vicar of Tillingham, makes - various bequests to his church, and leaves 6 8_s._ 4_d._ for a priest - to sing for his soul for a year; he gives to Sir Richard Mortimer, his - parish priest [_i.e._ his assistant curate], his portuous, and his - long gown of musterdeviles with the hood; he leaves, besides, to - different people, his best gown, his two red doublets, and best pair - of hozen, his satten doublet, his new furred gown, his long green - gown, and his long russet gown, and his old hozen.[181] - - Robert Hyndmer, Rector of Sedgefield's will, 1558, is accompanied by a - very full inventory of the house furniture and belongings of a - well-to-do man. He leaves, among other things, a ring of gold with a - dark ruby in it, and another gold ring with a red seal of an image; - 180 ounces of plate at 5_s._ the ounce, and in money and gold, 116. - - John Honynghym, Rector of Waldegrave, 1417, leaves 100_s._ for the - making of a vestment for use at the high altar of the church of St. - Peter, in Walgraf, London. He leaves his "best bible," which begins In - S{o} filio dei in actibus [_sic_], also his portiforium of the Use of - York. He leaves to William Bryht, Rector of S. Michael's, Cornhill, a - gilt zone, which is in his hospitium in London, as recompense for - having kept a book of his called "Gorham Copwood"; and leaves his - sword to Nicholas Dixon. He leaves a book called "Speculum Curatorum," - a book of sermons which the late Prior of Bartholomew's composed, - Gorham super Mattheum, Bartholomeus de Casibus, his great missal, and - great new portiforium. - - Robert Newby, Rector of Whyttchurche, and official of the Archdeacon - of Oxford, 1412, leaves to his brother his sword, etc., and to his - daughter his scarlet gown. - - Thomas de la Mare, Canon of York, A.D. 1258, bequeaths 2 falcons to - his brother and cousin. He mentions his falconer among his servants, - and leaves him a "laner" and 20_s._ He had several horses, the names - of some being given; one was "Turnebull," another, "Bayard de - Wirethorp," and a third, "Morell de Welwick." - - Says the author of "Dives and Pauper," "These men of holy church that - buckle their shoes of silver and use great silver harness in their - girdles and knives, and men of religion--monks and canons and such - like--that use great ouches of silver and gold on their capes to - fasten their hoods against the wind, and ride on high horses with - saddles harnessed with gold and silver more pompously than lords, are - strong thieves and do great sacrilege, so spending the goods of holy - church on vanity and pride, in lust of the flesh, by which things the - poor should live." - -Some of these clergymen, it will be noticed, had one black toga, not for -usual wear in Divine service, for we shall see elsewhere that the clergy -wore their albes over the red and blue gowns of ordinary use, but perhaps -for mourning occasions. Thus, in the presentations of York Cathedral, in -1519, "we thynke it were convenient that whene we fetche a corse to the -churche, that we shulde be in our blak abbettes mornyngly (habits -mourningly) w{t} our hodes of the same of our hedes, as is used in many -other places." - -The use by the clergy of clothes of a dark colour was probably coming in -in the latter part of the fifteenth century. Holinshed, the chronicler of -Elizabeth, attributes this change to the influence of the universities: - - Before the universities bound their graduates to a stable attire, - afterwards usurped also even by the blind Sir Johns, "the clergy wore - garments of a light hue, as yellow, red, green, etc., with their shoes - piked, their hair crisped, their girdles armed with silver, their - shoes, spurs, bridles, etc., buckled with like metal, their apparel - (for the most part) of silk, and richly furred, their caps laced and - buttoned with gold."[182] - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -FABRIC AND FURNITURE OF CHURCHES, AND OFFICIAL COSTUME OF PRIESTS. - - -It is not necessary to describe the churches of medival England, for -happily they still exist of all periods and styles, from the rude Saxon -church built of split oak or chestnut trunks, at Greenstead, in Essex, -down to the noble perpendicular churches of the close of the fifteenth -century. - -We may, however, make two remarks upon them. First, the comparative -magnitude and sublimity of the churches was far greater in the times when -they were built. The contrast between the village church and the cots of -the peasantry around it, and even the small, lowly, half-timber manor -house in its neighbourhood; the contrast between the town churches and the -narrow streets of timber houses; still more the contrast between the great -cathedrals and monastic churches and all the habitations of men; fills us -with admiration of the splendid genius of the men who designed them, and -the large-minded devotion of the men who caused them to be built. - -[Illustration: Saffron Walden Church, Essex.] - -The second remark which we have to make is that, though we have the old -churches, they are, for the most part, stripped of all their ancient -decorations and furnishing; and that it requires some ecclesiological -knowledge and some power of imagination to realize their ancient beauty. -If we want to replace before the mind's eye the sort of church in which a -fourteenth or fifteenth century rector or vicar said the Divine service -continually, we shall have the advantage of finding the church still -existing, perhaps with very little alteration in its general architectural -outline; but we shall have to imagine the walls covered with fresco -painting of Old and New Testament story; the windows filled with gem-like -glass; the chancel screens and the rood loft with its sacred figures; the -chantry chapels; the altar tombs with effigies of knight and lady; the -lights twinkling before altar, rood and statue. - -[Illustration: Market Harborough Church, Leicestershire.] - -[Illustration: Chapel of Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey.] - - * * * * * - -We shall see from the Constitution of Archbishop Gray, quoted below, that -the parishioners were, by ancient custom, liable for the maintenance and -repair of the body and tower of their church; the fifth of the -"extravagants" of Stratford, Archbishop of York (1342),[183] records that -this was done by means of a proportionate tax on the estates and farms of -the parish. From the records of bishops' Visitations, we learn, further, -that the bishops exercised greater power in the matter of church building -in old times than they do now. They had not only the power to require that -the church should be kept in good repair, but that, where necessary, it -should be enlarged. Thus, Bishop Stapledon (1309) orders the parishioners -of Ilfracombe, since the church is not capable of holding all the -parishioners, to enlarge it by lengthening the body of the church by 24 -feet at least, and adding two aisles, within two years, under a penalty of -40.[184] - -At a Visitation of Sturton parish church, in 1314, in the time of the same -bishop, it was returned that, in addition to defects in the furniture, the -church is too small (_strictus_) and dark; the nave of the church -likewise. Therefore, "the lord bishop enjoins the rectors, vicar, and -parishioners, that they cause the said defects to be made good, according -to what belongs to them severally, before the next feast of St. Michael, -under penalty of 20 to the fabric of the [cathedral] Church of Exeter; -except the construction of the new chancel and the enlargement of the -church, and they to be done before St. Michael day twelve-month."[185] - -From the thirteenth century we have full information of the furniture and -utensils, vestments, and books which the canons required to be provided in -every church for the performance of Divine service and the ministration of -the offices of the Church. Walter Gray, Archbishop of York, c. 1250, made -a constitution which we subjoin; and similar lists occur from time to -time, for both provinces, in visitation inquiries, inventories and -constitutions;[186] _e.g._ in the Constitutions of Robert of Winchelsea, -Archbishop of Canterbury, 1305. - - Since much altercation has arisen between some of the rectors and - vicars and their parishioners about the various ecclesiastical - ornaments as to what it belonged to the rectors or their vicars to - provide and maintain and what to the parishioners, we ordain and - appoint that the parishioners provide a chalice, missal, the principal - vestment of the church, viz. a chasuble, white albe, amice, stole, - maniple, zone, with three towels, a corporal, and other decent - vestments for the deacon and sub-deacon, according to the means of the - parishioners and of the church, together with a principal silk cope - for chief festivals, and with two others for the rulers of the choir - in the foresaid festivals, a processional cross and another smaller - cross for the dead, and a bier for the dead, a vase for holy water, an - osculatory, a candlestick for the Paschal candle, a thurible, a - lantern with a bell, a Lent veil, two candlesticks for the taper - bearers; of books, a Legendary, Antiphonary, Gradual, Psalter, - Topiary, Ordinale, Missal, Manual; a frontal to the great altar, three - surplices, a suitable pyx for the "Corpus Christi," a banner for the - Rogations, great bells with their ropes, a holy font with fastening, a - chrismatory, images in the church, and the principal image in the - church of the person to whom the church is dedicated, the repair of - books and vestments so often as they require repair; and in addition - to all the aforesaid things a light in the church, the repair of the - nave of the church, with its bell-tower, internally and externally, - viz. with glass windows, with the enclosure of the cemetery, with - other things belonging to the nave of the church, and other things - which by custom belong to the parishioners. To the rectors or vicars - belong all other things according to various ordinances, viz. the - principal chancel with its repairs both in walls and roofs and glass - windows belonging to the same, with desks and forms and other - ornaments suitable, so that with the prophet they may be able to sing, - "Lord, I have loved the honour of Thy house," etc. As to the manse of - the rectory and its repair, and other things which are not written in - this book, let the rectors or vicars know that they may be compelled - by the ordinary of the place, to do according to this constitution and - others in this case provided.[187] - -This is the formal catalogue of the minimum which the law required the -parson and the parishioners to provide and maintain. But people were not -satisfied with doing only what they were obliged to do. A considerable -number of inventories exist of the treasures which had gradually -accumulated as the gifts of pious benefactors to the cathedrals and -churches: shrines, reliquaries, statues, crosses, mitres, pastoral staves, -lamps and candlesticks, chalices, patens, pyxes, paxes, censers, -processional crosses of gold and silver, often set with precious stones; -altar cloths, hangings, palls,[188] vestments of the costliest fabrics, -many of them embroidered, and often ornamented with precious stones. When -we add the paintings of stained and sculptured marble, and carved woodwork -of the fabric, and the monuments with their recumbent statues, and call to -mind that the best art of the period was devoted to these works, we -recognize that the churches of the country were treasures of art. Even the -humblest village churches often possessed noble tombs of the local lords, -and their gifts of ornaments of costly material and fine workmanship. - -[Illustration: PROCESSION OF BISHOPS WITH CROSS BEARER, THURIFER, HOLY -WATER BEARER, PRIESTS, CANONS AND BISHOPS. FROM THE XV. CENT. MS., -TIBERIUS, B VIII., f. 43.] - -If we wish to see our priests as they ministered in church, it will be -necessary to describe the vestments which were worn by them in those -days.[189] - -It is a little doubtful what they wore at the very beginning of our -English Church history. The British bishops, no doubt, from early times -down to the sixth century, wore the white tunic with long sleeves, which -from its general colour was called the albe. The bishops and priests of -the Celtic school who clung to the old usages were probably still wearing -the pallium when Augustine came to Kent. But about that time the pallium -was being superseded by a newer vestment called the planeta or chasuble, a -circle of linen or other material with a hole in the middle through which -the head was passed, so that the garment fell in folds all round the -person. Very likely Augustine and the Continental school of clergy wore -this new garment, and it would be adopted by the Celtic school when they -accepted the Continental usages. The chasuble continued to be worn at the -altar down to the end of the Middle Ages with a slight modification in -shape; the voluminous folds in which it was gathered over the arms, when -the hands were in use, were practically inconvenient, and so the circle -came to be contracted into an oval, and then the ends of the oval were -shaped to a point. - -The orarium, which afterwards came to be called the stole, was originally -a prayer-veil worn over the head by the priests and people of heathen Rome -when they attended a sacrifice. It had an embroidered border which fell -round the neck and shoulders. In course of time the veil was narrowed to -its embroidered border, and was lengthened into a kind of scarf, worn over -the shoulders and hanging down in front. A deacon wore the stole over one -shoulder. - -In early times the priest and deacon bore a napkin, called the fanon or -maniple, over the left arm, with which to wipe the edge of the chalice; -but this also was in time reduced to a strip of embroidered material. - -The amice was a linen hood worn with the chasuble, placed over the head -while the chasuble was put on, and then thrown back; so that it was seen -only like a loose fold of linen round the neck. - -The dalmatic was another upper garment, in form like a wide short tunic -slit up at the sides, with short wide sleeves; and about the tenth -century it became the distinctive upper vestment of the deacon. A little -later the sub-deacon wore a tunicle, which was a scantier dalmatic. - -We often find "a suit of vestments" mentioned in inventories and wills, -and in several places it is defined in detail as a chasuble, two tunicles, -three albes, and three amices, the vestments needed by the celebrant, his -deacon, and sub-deacon; the chasuble and tunicles would be of the same -material, colour, and style of ornamentation. - -The cope was simply a cloak. The shape in which we first find it as an -ecclesiastical vestment was an exact semicircle, usually with an -ornamented border along the straight side, which, when worn, fell down in -two lines of embroidery in front. It was originally a protection from the -weather, as indicated by its name "Pluviale," and by the hood, which is so -integral a part of the original idea of the garment, that for centuries a -flat triangular piece of ornamental work was sewn at the back of the cope, -to represent this hood. It first appears as a clerical vestment about the -end of the ninth century, and was worn in processions and in choir. - -The surplice is the most modern of the clerical vestments. The fashion, -introduced about the eleventh century, of having the tunic lined with fur, -was found very comfortable by the clergy in their long services in cold -churches; but the strait, girded albe looked ungraceful over it, and so -the albe was enlarged into a surplice, to be worn in all minor offices -over the furred robe, as its name, _superpelliceum_, indicates, while the -albe continued to be used in the Eucharistic Service. - -[Illustration: Bishop and Canons, from Richard II.'s "Book of Hours," -British Museum.] - -The shape of the surplice differs much in different examples. We give some -illustrations in which it will be seen that the surplice of a canon is -long and ample, while that of a clerk is little wider than an albe, but -has wide sleeves and is not girded. In an inventory of the goods of St. -Peter, Cornhill, at the time of the Reformation, we find "gathered -surplices" for the "curate," and "plain surplices" for the choir.[190] - -Canons in choir wore over the surplice a short furred cope or cape, called -an amyss, with a fur-lined hood attached, of curious shape, as shown in -several of our illustrations. Bishops wore the whole series of vestments -with the addition of mitre, jewelled gloves and shoes, and carried a -pastoral staff. - -The furniture of the churches and the vestments of its ministers were of -very different degrees of beauty and cost--from altar vessels of simple -silver of rude country make up to vessels of gold fashioned by great -artists and enriched with jewels; from a simple linen chasuble up to copes -and chasubles of cloth of gold, enriched with embroidery of high artistic -merit and adorned with gems. - -After these dry technicalities, we have only to illustrate the vestments -as they appeared in actual use by some pictures from illuminated -manuscripts and other sources, with a few explanatory notes where they -seem to be necessary. Once granted that some distinctive dress is becoming -and desirable for the clergy in their ministrations, and the rest is mere -matter of taste. There is nothing mysterious about the medival vestments. -They were all at first (except the Orarium) ordinary articles of everyday -apparel, worn by clergy and laity alike. But it has always been thought -right that the clergy should not be in too great haste to follow new -fashions, and so they went on wearing fashions till they were obsolete; -moreover, some of these copes and planetas were costly vestments given by -kings and great men expressly to be worn in Divine service, and had been -worn by saints, and had come to have venerable associations, and no one -wished to discard them; and so they came to be distinctive and venerable. - -Imaginative people soon invented a symbolical meaning for the various -vestments, and other imaginative people varied the symbolism from time to -time. St. Isidore of Seville, in the sixth century, saw in the white -colour of the albe a symbol of the purity which becomes the clerical -character, and that was so obvious and simple, that it continued to be the -recognized meaning all through the ages. Of the chasuble, St. Germanus of -Constantinople, in the eighth century, says it is a symbol of our Lord's -humility; Amalarius of Metz, in the ninth century, says it means good -works; and Alcuin, in the tenth century, takes it to signify charity, -because it covers all the other vestments as charity excels all other -virtues. Later writers made the dalmatic, because it is in the shape of a -cross, signify the Passion of our Lord; the stole, the yoke of Christ; and -so forth.[191] - -There is a fashion in clerical vestments as well as in the clothes of the -laity; the forms of the cope, chasuble, etc., at different times are -sufficiently shown in our illustrations to make description unnecessary. -We may make the one remark, that whereas the cope and chasuble of the -thirteenth and fourteenth centuries are of pliant material and skilful -fashion, and fall in graceful folds, the like vestments in the sixteenth -century came to be made of stiff material unskilfully shaped; in the -seventeenth century the chasuble has its sides entirely cut away, of -necessity, because the arms were unable to act under the weight and -rigidity of the material, while the back and front hang down like boards -cut into the shape of a violoncello.[192] - -[Illustration: Goodrich, Bishop of Ely. (From his monumental brass.)] - -It will be convenient to introduce here, from the monumental brass of -Bishop Goodrich, 1554 A.D., an example of late date, in which the -vestments are very clearly drawn, and briefly to enumerate them. The albe -reaches to the feet, the piece of embroidery upon it being one of five -such pieces, in front and back at the feet, on the wrists, and on the -breast, symbolizing the "five wounds" of our Lord. Over that may be seen -the lower part of the sub-deacon's tunicle; over that the ends of the -stole; then the dalmatic; and over all the chasuble. The embroidered -vestment round the shoulders is probably the "rationale," an ornament rich -with gold and jewels, worn by some bishops in this country. The plain -fillet round the neck is the linen amice. The jewelled mitre and the -pastoral staff need no description. The hands are covered with gloves of -gauntlet shape, and the tassel with which the wrist terminates will be -evident to careful observation. The maniple will be seen hanging over the -left wrist. The book held in the right hand is probably the Bible, and the -seal dependent from the same hand is the badge of this bishop's civil -office of Lord Chancellor. - -[Illustration: Abbot Delamere. St. Albans.] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE PUBLIC SERVICES IN CHURCH. - - -The public services on Sunday in a parish church were Matins, Mass, and -Evensong. We do not propose more than to take an outside view of them; the -reader who cares to do so may without difficulty obtain a missal and -breviary, and study their contents. We may, however, make two remarks -bearing upon the important general question of the popular religion of -these Middle Ages. The first is that there is a widespread error on the -subject of the "Mass" in the minds of those who have never opened a -missal. It is taken for granted that it was the most corrupt and -idolatrous feature of all the Roman corruptions; on the contrary, the -Eucharistic service of the Medival English Church was very little altered -in substance from that of the sixth century, and is so sound that it is -inconsistent with some of the modern Roman corruptions in doctrine and -practice. The Matins and Evensong of those times consisted of an -accumulation of several of the "Hour" offices; and the Morning and -Evening Prayer of our Prayer-book consists of a condensation of those same -"Hours;" so that the regular popular services were far more free from -corruptions and superstitions than is commonly supposed. These were to be -found chiefly in glosses on the services, and additions to them. - -It is probable that the Sunday services were attended with fair regularity -by the majority of the people.[193] Not only did the clergy exercise more -authoritative oversight over their people than they do in these times, but -it was the duty of churchwardens to present people who were flagrantly -negligent of their religious duties, and of the Ecclesiastical Courts to -punish them.[194] - -The times of service varied in different times and places, but they were -earlier than our present usage. - -It is certain that matins always preceded the Divine service,[195] and it -is probable that the normal time for the latter was nine o'clock;[196] it -was not considered right to celebrate it after twelve o'clock. - -If not every Sunday, at least at certain times a sermon was preached, -about which we shall have to speak more at large presently. All the people -who were of age and not excommunicate were communicants, but the vast -majority only communicated once a year, at Easter, some pious people a -little more frequently, but the most devout not oftener than twelve times -a year.[197] But at every celebration a loaf of bread, the "holy loaf," -was blessed, and broken or cut in pieces, and given to the people. Here -comes in a question whether the laity attended mass fasting. It would seem -that it was not necessary, since they did not communicate, but that they -may have done so out of reverence is suggested by a note in Blunt's -Annotated Prayer-book, that those who had not come fasting to the service, -did not eat their portion of the "holy loaf," but gave it to another, or -reserved it for future consumption. People dined no doubt immediately -they reached their homes after service. - -Probably the evensong at about three in the afternoon was not so well -attended as the morning service; people who have some distance to go in -all weathers from their homes to the church do not usually go twice a day. -It was probably the general custom to catechize the children in the -afternoon. - -All this is illustrated by some extracts from the author of "Piers -Plowman":-- - - For holy church exhorteth All manner of people - Under obedience to be, And buxom to the Law. - First religious of Religion their Rule to hold, - And under obedience to be by days and by nights; - Lewd[198] men to labour, lords to hunt - In friths and forests for fox and other beasts, - That in wild woods be, And in waste places, - As wolves that worry men, Women and children; - And upon Sunday to cease, God's service to hear, - Both Matins and Masse, And after meat in churches - To hear their Evensong Every man ought. - Thus it belongeth to Lord, to learned, and to lewd, - Each holy day to hear Wholly the service, - Vigils and fasting days Further to know.[199] - -Sloth said, in a fit of repentance-- - - Shall no Sunday be this seven years, Except sickness hinder, - That I shall not go before day To the dear church, - And hear Matins and Masse, As if I a monk were; - Shall no ale after meat Hold me thence - Till I have Evensong heard, I swear to the Rood.[200] - -This confirms our statement that on Sundays people generally went to -matins and mass, and afterwards to dinner; and in the afternoon to -evensong. Sloth is boasting when he says that in future he will go to -church before day like a monk; ordinary lay people did not do so; and he -admits the fault of sitting over the ale after dinner, instead of going to -evensong. - -There seems to have been a certain laxity of practice in those days as in -these. We all know that it was the custom in many country churches in -modern times--and very likely still is so in some--not to begin the -service until the squire came; we are shocked to find that it was so in -those earlier times, and that the squire was sometimes very late. This is -illustrated by two of the very curious stories in the "Book of the Knight -of La Tour Landry."[201] - - I have herde of a knight and of a lady that in her (their) youthe - delited hem to rise late. And so they used longe tille many tymes that - thei lost her masse, and made other of her paryshe to lese it, for the - knight was lord and patron of the churche, and therefor the priest - durst not disobeye hym. And so it happed that the knight sent unto the - chirche that thei shulde abide hym. And whane he come it was passed - none, wherefor thei might not that day have no masse, for every man - saide it was passed tyme of the day, and therefore thei durst not - singe. - -The other story is of - - a ladi that dwelled faste by the chirche, that toke every day so long - time to make her redy, that it made every Sunday the parson of the - chirche and the parisseners to abide after her. And she happed to - abide so longe on a Sunday that it was fer dayes, and every man said - to other, "This day we trow shall not this lady be kemed and arraied." - -[Illustration: ELEVATION AT MASS. FROM THE LATE XV. CENT. MS. 25698, f. -2.] - -We read also of instances on fast days, when men might not eat till after -evensong, of evensong being said at noon. - -After mass on Sunday, it was not very uncommon for a pedlar to take the -opportunity of the assembling of the people to display his wares in the -churchyard, in spite of injunctions to the contrary. And after evensong, -the young people took advantage of their holiday to play at games, -sometimes in the churchyard.[202] - -An inquiry[203] by Cardinal Pole, in 1557, whether taverns and ale houses -opened their doors on Sundays and holy days in time of mass, matins, and -evensong, indicates that the law required them to be closed at those -times, but permitted them to be open at other times on Sundays and holy -days. - -The churchgoing habits of clergy and people on other days than Sundays and -holy days are not so easily arrived at. There is no proof that a daily -celebration was ordered in the Saxon Church; after the Norman Conquest, a -weekly celebration was ordered.[204] There is no canon of the English -Church which imposes a daily celebration on the clergy; by a Constitution -of Peckham,[205] they are required to say mass once a week, and that, if -possible, on a Sunday; at a later period it became the general practice -for a priest to say his daily mass. Where the services of the church were -regularly performed, it is probable that the parish priest said the Divine -service every day, either in the parish church or in one of its chapels, -if it had any; and that he also said matins and evensong; but it is not -unlikely that in many country parishes there was an amount of laxity. We -have seen that the inhabitants of hamlets who were solicitous about the -services in their chapel were content with it on three days a week, viz. -Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday; and we should not be surprised to be told -that in many of the rural parish churches it was not said more frequently, -or indeed more frequently than on Sundays and holy days. - -As for the attendance of the laity on daily service, we have given reasons -in the chapter on domestic chapels for believing that it was the custom of -the nobility and those of the higher classes who had domestic chapels and -chaplains to have a daily celebration of mass, matins, and evensong. - -There is a passage in the "Vision of Piers Plowman" (Passus V.) which -seems to indicate that this was the case in churches also-- - - The king and his knights to the church wenten, - To hear matins and mass, and to the meal after. - -But the services were likely to be duly performed in any church which "the -king and his knights" were likely to attend, and in the principal churches -in towns, and in well-served churches everywhere; we only doubt it in many -of the churches and chapels in rustic parishes where devotion was cold and -discipline slack, or the number of the clergy insufficient. - -At the ordinary daily services in parish churches it is very likely that -there was some congregation; for attendance on the Divine service was -highly regarded as a pious exercise, and pious people who had the -leisure--women especially--would be likely to attend it; the custom of -gathering poor people into almshouses in which they formed a kind of -religious community with their chaplain, chapel, and daily prayers, would -be likely to have its counterpart in the attendance of the pensioners of -the parish church at the daily service in it; but it is unlikely that it -was ever customary for the middle class, still less the lower class of -laymen, engaged in the active business of life, to attend daily mass, or -matins, or evensong, as a habit of their religious life. - - * * * * * - -The Bidding Prayer, being in English, was a popular part of the service. -It was usually, from the eleventh century onward, said from the pulpit -before the sermon. It differed somewhat in various places and at -different periods; but the following example, taken from "The York -Manual," is a fair example of the class: - - _Prayers to be used on Sundays._[206] - - To God Almighty and the glorious Virgin Mother, our lady S. Mary, and - all the glorious company of heaven. - - For the Pope and his Cardinals, for the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and - for the holy cross, that God bring it out of the heathen men's hands - into Christian men's keeping. - - For the Archbishop of this see, and the Bishops, etc. - - For the Parson of this church [and others] that hath the cure of men's - souls, that God give them grace well to teach their subjects, and the - subjects well to work after heleful teaching, that both the teachers - and subjects may come to everlasting bliss. - - For all priests and clerks who sing in this church, and any other, - etc. - - For the King and Queen, the peers and lords, and all the good - Commoners of this land, and especially for those that hath the good - council of the land to govern, that God give them grace such counsel - to take and ordain, and so for to work thereafter that it may be - loving to God Almighty, and profit and welfare to the royalme, and - gainsaying and reproving of our enemy's power and malice. - - For all that worship in this church, or any other, with book, bell, - vestment, chalice, altar-cloth, or towell, or any other ornament, etc. - - For all that give or leave in testament any good to the right - maintenance and upholding of the work of this Church, and for all them - that find any Light in this Church as in torch, taper, land, in - worshipping of God or of our Lady or of any of His Saints. - - For all our good parishioners wheresoever they be, on water or on - land, that God of His goodness save them from all manner of perils, - and bring them safe where they would be in health of body and soul and - also of goods. - - For all that are in debt or deadly sin, that God for His great mercy - bring them soon thereof; and for all those that are in good living, - that God maintain them and give them good perseverance in their - goodness; and that these prayers may be heard and sped the sooner - through your prayers, every man and woman that here is, help them - heartily with a _Pater Noster_ and an _Ave Maria_, etc. - - Deus misereatur [the whole Psalm]. - Gloria Patri. - Kyrie Eleyson, etc. - Pater noster ... et ne nos ... sed libera. - Sacerdotes tui induantur justitia. - Et sancti tui exultent, etc. - Et clamor meus ad te veniat. - Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo. - Oremus [three Latin prayers]. - - Ye shall kneel down devoutly and pray for the brethren and sisters of - St. Peter of York, St. John of Beverley, St. Wilfred of Ripon, and St. - Mary of Southwell; and specially for all those that be sick in this - parish or any other, that God in His goodness release them from their - pains in their sickness, and turn them to the way that is most to - God's pleasure and welfare of their souls. - - We shall pray for all those that duly pay their tendes [tithes] and - their offerings to God and to the holy Church, that God do them meed - in the bliss of heaven that ever shall last, and they that do not so - that God of His mercy bring them soon to amendment. - - We shall pray for all true pilgrims and palmers wheresoever they be, - on water or on land, that God of His goodness grant them part of our - good prayers and us part of their good pilgrimages. - - We shall also pray for all land tylland [under cultivation], that God - for His goodness and for His grace and through our good prayers - maintain them that they may be saved from all evil winds and wethers - and from all dreadful storms, that God send us corn and cattle for to - live upon to God's pleasure and the welfare of our souls. - - We shall pray also for all women that be with child in this parish or - any other, that God comfort them, and send the child Christendom, and - the mother Purification of holy Church, and releasing of pain in her - travailing. - - We shall pray specially for them that this day gave bread to this - Church for to be made holy bread of; for them that it begun and - longest uphold, for them and for us and for all them that need hath of - good prayers. - - In worship of our lady Saint Mary and her v joys, every man and woman - say in the honor of her v times _Ave Maria_. - - _Antiphona._--Ave, regina clorum, - Mater regis angelorum; - O Maria flos virginum, - Velut rosa vel lilium, - Funde preces ad Filium - Pro salute fidelium. - V. Post partum virgo inviolata. - Gratiam tuam, etc. - - Oremus.--We beseech thee, O Lord, pour Thy grace into our hearts, that - we who have known Thy Incarnation by the message of an angel, by His - Cross and Passion may come to the glory of His Resurrection, through - the same Christ our Lord. Amen. - - Ye shall make a special prayer for your fathers' souls and for your - mothers' souls, godfathers' souls and godmothers' souls, brothers' - souls and sisters' souls, and for all your elders' souls, and for all - the souls that you and I be bound to pray for, and specially for all - the souls whose bones are buried in this church or in this churchyard - or in any other holy place; and in especial for all the souls that - bide the great mercy of Almighty God in the bitter pains of Purgatory, - that God for His great mercy release them of their pain if it be His - blessed will. And that our prayers may somewhat stand them in stead, - every man and woman of your church help them with a _Pater noster_ and - an _Ave Maria_. - - Psalmus: De profundis. - Kyrie Eleyson, etc. - Pater noster ... et ne nos ... - Requiem eternam. - Credo vivere. - A porta inferi. - Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo. - Oremus. - Fidelium Deus omnium Conditor, etc. - Fidelium anim per misericordiam Dei in pace requiescant. Amen. - -One of the features connected with this part of the service, which must -have had a striking effect, was the Bede Roll, the reading out the names -of those who had recently died in the parish, and the commendation of them -to the prayers of the congregation. There are examples of the payment of a -fee for placing a name on the list, and of people leaving money to the -priest for naming them from year to year on their anniversary, and of -endowments for the maintenance of the Bede Roll.[207] - -The Procession, or Litany, was also a very popular service; its petitions -and responses, though in Latin, were intelligible enough to the people; -and the procession of priest and clerks round the church with cross and -censer, while the petitions were chanted by a single voice, _Sancte -Katherine_; etc., _ora pro nobis_, and the responses sung in chorus, -"_Ora, ora, ora pro nobis!_" made up a very picturesque and solemn -service. It was probably usually said in the afternoon. A painful, but no -doubt very attractive, addition was sometimes made to it, when a miserable -penitent condemned to the penance preceded the procession in white sheet, -bearing a taper. - - * * * * * - -In churches in which there were one or more chantries the private masses -would be said at the convenience of the cantarists, with this one -regulation: that they might not on Sundays and festivals begin till after -the gospel of the principal service. People might attend these chantry -services if they pleased, and perhaps the relatives of persons -commemorated usually or frequently did so; and, if said at a different -hour from the principal service, they would practically add to the number -of services, and meet the convenience of some of the people. - -We shall see hereafter that chantry and special services were often -provided in towns by the corporation, or one of the gilds, or by some -group of persons, expressly to add to the number of services, first for -the greater honour of Almighty God, and secondly to meet the wishes and -circumstances of different people. - -In most great churches, with the normal services, and the chantry services -besides, services must have been going on all the morning long; sometimes -the great celebration at the high altar, and, at the same time, chantry -celebrations at a dozen altars besides in the surrounding chapels. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -PREACHING AND TEACHING. - - -There is a chain of evidences that the rulers of the Church not only -enjoined the diligent teaching of the people by their parish priests in -sermon[208] and otherwise, but also gave the clergy the assistance of -manuals of teaching and sermon helps; and, further, took pains at their -visitations to ascertain that the duty was efficiently performed. - -So early as the beginning of the eighth century, Aldhelm, Bishop of -Sherborne, published a poem in four hundred and fifty-eight Latin -hexameters, "De Octo[209] Principalibus Vitiis." - -[Illustration: PREACHING. FROM THE XIII. CENT. MS., EGERTON, p. 745, f. -46.] - -lfric's address to the clergy (c. 1030) at the distribution of the chrism -seems to have been written for his Bishop Wulfsine to deliver to a -synodical assembly of the clergy of the Diocese of Sherborne. It is an -instruction to the clergy on the duties of their office; dealing first -minutely with their duty in baptism, unction, the eucharist, etc.; then it -bids them to know by heart and explain to the people the Ten Commandments, -and gives a brief explanation of each; then it goes on to explain the -eight[210] capital vices. It is the first which has been preserved to us -of a long series of synodal instructions. - -The Synod of Oxford, in 1223, enjoins the clergy "not to be dumb dogs, but -with salutary bark to drive away the disease of spiritual wolves from the -flock." A canon of Alexander of Stavenby, Bishop of Coventry (1224-1240), -requires all clergy to address to their people assembled on the Lord's Day -or other festival the following words:--the words constitute a rhetorical -sermon on the seven deadly sins. Another canon gives directions as to the -mode of receiving penitents, and dealing with souls. Grostete (1235-1254) -gave directions to his clergy to preach on Sundays, and gave them the -heads of their teaching. In Exeter, Bishop Quivil (1280-1292) drew up a -similar book for the clergy, of which he required every parish to have a -copy under penalty of a fine. Bishop Brentingham, of Exeter (1370-1395), -issued a mandate against intruding priests who would say low masses in -parish churches on Sundays and holy days, which parishioners attended -instead of the _Magna Missa_, and so lost the benefit of the sermon: this -assumes that a sermon is preached in all parish churches on Sundays and -holy days. Other diocesan bishops adopted similar methods. - -Archbishop Peckham, in the Constitutions of 1281, put forth a manual of -teaching on the Articles of Faith, the Ten Commandments, the Seven[211] -Deadly Sins, the Seven Principal Virtues, and the Seven Sacraments, so -fully and ably done that it continued to form a standard of teaching, and -is constantly referred to in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It -seems worth while to give it _in extenso_ as an authentic record of the -teaching of the Medival Church. It appears as Canon X. of the Provincial -Synod of Lambeth, 1281, and begins with this preamble-- - - The ignorance of priests precipitates the people into the pit of - error, and the foolishness or rudeness of clerks, who ought to - instruct the minds of the faithful in the Catholic faith, sometimes - tends rather to error than to doctrine. Also some blind preachers[212] - do not always visit the places which most need the light of truth, as - the prophet witnesses, who says, "The children seek for bread, and - there is no one to break it to them;" and another prophet cries, "The - poor and needy ask for water, and their tongue is parched." For the - remedy of such mischiefs we ordain that every priest who presides over - a people do four times a year, that is, once in each quarter of the - year, on one or more festival days, either by himself or by another, - expound to the people in popular language without any fanciful - subtlety, the 14 Articles of Faith, the 10 Commandments of the Lord, - the 2 Evangelical Precepts of Charity, the 7 Works of Mercy, the 7 - Deadly Sins with their progeny, the 7 Principal Virtues, and the 7 - Sacraments of Grace. And in order that no one may excuse himself from - this on account of ignorance, though all ministers of the Church ought - to know them, we have here with great brevity summed them up. - - _Of the Articles of Faith._--Seven of them concern the mystery of the - Trinity; four of these belong to the essence of the Godhead, and the - other three relate to His works. The first is the unity of the Divine - Essence in three Persons of the Indivisible Trinity agreeably to this - part of the Creed, "_I believe in one God._" The second is to believe - God the Father, begotten of none. The third is to believe the Son the - only begotten, and God. The fourth is to believe the Holy Ghost to be - God, neither begotten nor unbegotten, but proceeding both from the - Father and the Son. The fifth article is to believe in the creation of - Heaven and Earth (that is, of every visible and invisible creature) by - the whole and undivided Trinity. - - The sixth is the Sanctification of the Church by the Holy Ghost, and - by the Sacraments of Grace, and by all those things in which the - Christian Church communicates. By which is understood that the Church, - with its Sacraments and discipline, is, through the Holy Ghost, - sufficient for the salvation of every sinner; and that outside the - Church there is no salvation. The seventh article is the consummation - of the Church in eternal glory by a true resurrection of body and - soul; and on the contrary is understood the eternal damnation of the - lost. - - _Of the Seven Articles relating to the Humanity of Christ._--The first - is His Incarnation, or His true assumption of human flesh of the - Blessed Virgin, by the Holy Ghost. The second is the real birth of - God Incarnate from the immaculate Virgin. The third is the true - passion of Christ and His death upon the Cross under Pontius Pilate. - The fourth is the descent of Christ in the Spirit into hell, while His - body remained in the grave, for the despoiling of Tartarus. The fifth - is the true Resurrection of Christ. The sixth is His Ascension to - heaven. And the seventh is the most confident expectation of His - coming to judgment. - - _Of the Ten Commandments._--Of the ten commandments of the Old - Testament three relate to God, and constitute the first table; the - remaining seven concern our neighbour, and are called the Commandments - of the Second Table. The First Commandment is,[213] _Thou shalt have - no other gods before Me_; by which all idolatrous worship is - forbidden; and by inference all lots and incantations and - superstitions[214] of letters, and such-like figments are forbidden. - In the Second, where it is said, _Thou shalt not take the Name of the - Lord thy God in vain_, all heresy is principally condemned; and, in a - secondary sense, all blasphemy, irreverent mention of the Name of God, - and especially perjury. The Third Commandment, where it is said, - _Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day_, commands Christian - worship, to which clergy and laity are alike bound. But we are to - understand that the obligation of rest upon the Jewish Sabbath came to - an end together with the other legal ceremonies; and that under the - New Testament came in the practice of Divine worship on the Lord's day - and other holy days appointed by the authority of the Church, and the - manner of keeping those days is to be governed by the laws of the - Church, and not by any Jewish usage. - - The First Commandment of the Second Table is, _Honour thy Father and - Mother_, in which we are explicitly commanded to honour our parents, - both in temporal and in spiritual matters; but implicitly, and in a - secondary sense, every man is by this commandment to be honoured - according to his proper degree; not only our natural father and mother - are intended, but our spiritual parents, the Bishop of the Diocese and - the Priest of the Parish, may be said to be our fathers; and the - Church is our Mother, who is the Mother of all the faithful. The - Second precept in this division is, _Thou shalt not kill_; by which - the unauthorized taking away any person's life, either by consent, - act, word, or encouragement, is explicitly forbidden, and implicitly - every unrighteous injury to the person. They likewise who do not - support the poor, they who murder a man's reputation, are guilty of - the breach of this Commandment; and so are all such as harass and - distress the innocent. The Third Commandment says, _Thou shalt not - commit adultery_. Adultery is explicitly condemned, and implicitly - fornication, which is likewise explicitly forbidden in Deuteronomy - xxiii., where it is said, "There shall be no whore of the daughters of - Israel." But, further, the command extends by way of reduction to all - instances of impurity. The Fourth Commandment declares _Thou shall not - steal_, which explicitly condemns the clandestine conveying away - another man's property without his consent, implicitly it forbids - taking what belongs to our neighbour either by fraud or violence. The - Fifth Commandment is, _Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy - neighbour_. This precept explicitly forbids false testimony to the - damage of our neighbour; and in a secondary sense it disallows undue - commendation in order to the promotion of an unworthy person. Lastly, - under this command, all sort of lies, but especially those which are - injurious, are condemned. The Sixth Commandment is, _Thou shalt not - covet thy neighbour's house_--i.e. to his injury. By this command we - are implicitly forbidden to desire the _real_ estate of our neighbour, - and especially if he is a Catholic. The Seventh and last Commandment - of the Table is, _Thou shalt not covet his wife, nor his servant, nor - his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his_, where - the coveting of our neighbour's stock or _personal_ estate is - forbidden. - - But to these Ten Commandments the Gospel superadds two, viz. _The Love - of God and of our neighbour_. He loves God who obeys the aforesaid - Commandments more out of love than out of fear of punishment; and - every one ought to love his neighbour as himself; where the particle - "_as_" does not signify equality but similarity. So that, for example, - you may love your neighbour to the same extent as you love yourself, - that is for good and not for evil; and in the same way that is - spiritually and not carnally; and as much as yourself, in regard to - time, that is in prosperity and adversity, in health and sickness; as - also as much as yourself in respect of degree, insomuch as you love - each and every man more than riches; also insomuch as you love the - soul of your neighbour, or his eternal salvation, more than your own - earthly life, as you ought to put the life of your soul before the - life of your body; also in the same kind as yourself, so that you - succour all others in need as you wish to be helped in like necessity. - All these things are meant when it is said "Thou shalt love thy - neighbour as thyself." - - _Of the Seven Works of Mercy._--Six of the Seven Works of Mercy may be - learned from St. Matthew's Gospel: _To feed the hungry; to give drink - to the thirsty; to entertain the stranger; to clothe the naked; to - visit the sick; to comfort those in prison_; the seventh is gathered - from Tobit--_to bury the dead_. - - The Seven Deadly or Capital Sins are Pride, Envy, Anger or Hatred, - Sloth, Avarice or Covetousness, Gluttony, Intemperance. Pride is the - love of one's own superiority (_amor propri excellenti_), from - whence spring boasting, ostentation, hypocrisy, schism (_sasinata_), - and such like. Envy is hatred of another's good: whence come - detraction, strife, complainings, dissension, perverse judgements, and - such like. Anger is the desire of revenge, of doing hurt to any - person, when it continues upon the mind it settles into hatred; whence - proceed outrage in words and acts, quarrels, murders, and such like. - Sloth (_accidia_)[215] is a strong indisposition for spiritual good, - so that a man has no delight in God or in His praises; out of it come - idleness, cowardice, despair, and the like. Avarice is an immoderate - love of riches, either by unlawful gathering or unlawful hoarding; out - of it spring fraud, theft, sacrilege, simony, and every sort of base - gain. Gluttony is an immoderate love of gratifying the palate in food - and drink, and it sins in many ways; first, in regard to time, when a - man eats too early or too late or too often; second, in respect to - quality, when he is too nice in the choice of his diet; third, in - respect of quantity, when he eats and drinks too much, which is the - most degrading form of gluttony; also in respect of avidity and - voracity, and lastly, in too nice a preparation of food so as to - excite the appetite; all which are contained in this verse-- - - "_Pr, propere, laute, nimis, ardenter, studiose_." - - Lastly, as for Luxuria, it is not needful to explain it, for its - infamy poisons the whole atmosphere. - - The Seven Principal Virtues are Faith, Hope, and Charity, which, - having God for their object, are called the Theological Virtues; and - the others, Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude, which relate - to ourselves and our neighbours. The action of Prudence is to make a - proper choice; of Justice to do what is good and right; of Temperance - not to be hampered by pleasures; Fortitude is not to desert our duty - for any pain or hardship. These are called the seven cardinal or - principal virtues, because from these seven many others are deduced; - concerning which, since we work chiefly for the benefit of the plainer - sort of people, we shall at present add no more. - - There are Seven Sacraments of the Church, the power of administering - which is committed to the clergy. Five of these Sacraments ought to be - received by all Christians in general; that is, Baptism, Confirmation, - Penance, the Holy Eucharist, and Extreme Unction, which last is only - for one who seems to be in danger of death; it should be given, if it - may be, before a man is so far spent as to lose the use of his reason; - but if he happens to be seized by a frenzy, or suffer from any - alienation of mind, this Sacrament ought nevertheless to be - administered to him, provided he gave signs of a religious disposition - before his mind was disturbed. Under such qualifications Extreme - Unction is believed to be beneficial to the sick person provided he is - predestinated (_predestinationis filius_), and either procures him a - lucid interval or some spiritual advantage. The other two Sacraments - are Order and Matrimony. The first belongs to the perfect, but the - second in the time of the New Testament belongs to the imperfect only, - and yet we believe that, by the virtue of the sacrament, it conveys - grace, if it is contracted with a sincere mind. - -Thoresby, Archbishop of York in 1357, commissioned John Graytrigg, a monk -of York, to write in English verse an exposition of these six things: The -Fourteen Points of the Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Seven Sacraments, -the Seven Works of Mercy, the Seven Virtues, the Seven Deadly Sins; and -this he sent to all his priests, and bade them teach them often to their -people, and urge them to teach their children; and to examine them as to -their knowledge when they come to confession in Lent. At a synod held at -Ely in 1364, priests were enjoined frequently to preach, to expound the -Ten Commandments, etc., to study the sacred Scriptures, to see that -children are taught prayers, and to examine adults when they come to -confession as to their religious knowledge. When Arundel, in 1408, forbade -preaching without a licence, he expressly excepted the parish priests, who -were bound to instruct their people in simple language. - -A provincial synod at York, under Archbishop Nevil, in 1465, orders -systematic teaching quarterly in simple language on points which the canon -elaborately sets forth. - - * * * * * - -There were numerous helps to preachers. lfric, towards the end of the -Saxon period, freely translated forty homilies from Augustine, Jerome, -Bede, Gregory, and other great ancient writers, which were put forth for -the use of the clergy under the authority of Archbishop Siric; he -afterwards added forty others of a more legendary character; and there are -many other Saxon sermons still extant, printed by Wanley, Sharon Turner, -Thorpe, the Early English Text Society, etc. Of a later period there are -series of sermons by Grostete of Lincoln, FitzRalph of Armagh, and -literally hundreds of other writers, some for all the Sundays of the year, -some for the great festivals only. A series of sermons for Sundays and -feast days, by John Felton, Vicar of St. Mary Magdalene, Oxford, c. 1450, -seems to have been popular, since many manuscripts of it remain. The -"Liber Festivalis" of John Myrk, Canon of Lillieshall, was also popular; -Caxton's printed "Liber Festivalis" was founded upon it. The "Summa -Predicantium" is a book of sermon notes for preachers; the "Alphabetum -Exemplarium" is a collection of illustrations and anecdotes from which the -preacher might cull examples. - -The "Speculum Christiani," by John Watton, in the fourteenth century, was -intended, as is stated in the preface, to help the parish priests to carry -out Peckham's injunctions. A great part of it is in English, and it -contains rhymed versions of the Commandments to help the memory. Several -editions of it (one in 1480, at the cost of a London merchant) are among -the earliest printed books. The "Flos Florum" was another book of the same -class explaining the Lord's Prayer, Virtues, and Vices, etc. There were -also many private manuals instructing the clergy in all their duties: as -the "Pars Oculi Sacerdotis" of W. Parker, about 1350 A.D.; and the revised -edition of it, under the title of "The Pupilla Oculi" of Burgh, in 1385. - -These series of authoritative instructions are open to the criticism that -they are dry and formal, lacking evangelical tone and unction, manuals of -theology are apt to be dry and formal; the treatment of sins and virtues -is perhaps pedantic and fanciful, but it proves a searching analysis of -the human heart and conduct, and contains much which is striking and true. - -But there was another class of English books, like "The Prick of -Conscience" and other works of Richard the Hermit of Hampole[216] (died in -1349), and the "Speculum" of Archbishop St. Edmund Rich, in which we find -a vein of pious meditation, intended in the first instance for the use of -the clergy; but the pious thoughts of the clergy are not long in finding -their way to their tongues, and so to the ears and hearts of their people. -The religious poem of William of Massington, an advocate of the Court of -York, "On the Works of God and the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ," -etc., and a number of short poems, which have been printed in various -collections, give examples of the existence of the emotional element in -the popular religion in strains of considerable poetical and religious -merit. - -It is a very curious circumstance that many of these books are cast into a -poetical mould--Dom Johan Graytrigg's work is in the alliterative poetry -of Saxon and early English literature, and John Myrk's "Instructions" and -the "Lay Folks' Mass-book" are in rhyme, no doubt with the twofold purpose -of making them more attractive and more easily remembered. - -A remarkable feature of the moral teaching of the Middle Ages was its -minute analysis of sin. It divided sin into the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, -Envy, Anger, Sloth, Covetousness, Gluttony, Luxury; the list of them is -sometimes slightly varied. Then it divided each sin into its various -branches. It will be enough to quote from the "Argenbite of Inwit" the -analysis of the first of them--Pride. - -_Pride_ has seven boughs: Untruth, Contempt, Presumption, Ambition, -Vainglory, Hypocrisy, Wicked Dread. - -_Untruth_ has three twigs: Ingratitude, Foolishness, Apostasy. - -_Contempt_ is of three sorts: not praising others as they deserve; not -giving reverence where one ought; not obeying those who are over us. - -_Presumption_ has six twigs: Singularity, Extravagance, and also Strife, -Boasting, Scorn, Opposition. - -_Vainglory_ has three small twigs: God's gifts of Nature, Fortune, and -Grace. - -_Hypocrisy_ is of three kinds: Foul, Foolish, Subtle. - -The seventh bough of Pride is Wicked Fear and Shame. - -And so with the rest of the deadly sins. - -_Envy_ poisons the heart, mouth, and head. - -_Hatred_ has seven twigs: Chiding, Wrath, Hate, Strife, Vengeance, Murder, -War. - -_Sloth_ means yielding to our natural disinclination to good and proneness -to evil, and has six divisions: Disobedience, Impatience, Murmuring, -Sorrow, Desire of Death, Despair. - -_Avarice_ has ten divisions: Usury, Theft, Robbery, False Claim, -Sacrilege, Simony, Fraud, Chaffer, Craft, Wicked Gains. - -_Gluttony_ has five kinds; _Lechery_ fourteen. It is very pedantic in -form; but there is a keen insight into human frailty, and there are many -shrewd hits and pithy sayings, and it is lightened by anecdotes and -illustrations. Men nowadays would not have the patience to read it; but if -they did read and digest it, they might gain a great amount of -self-knowledge. - -Some similar treatises at the end of every deadly sin give its remedy, -also minutely analyzed.[217] Other subjects are treated by the same -method--the Seven Virtues, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, etc. -It is all dry reading, but it gives the patient reader valuable knowledge -of the attitude of men's minds in those days towards Christian faith and -practice. An evidence of the popularity of these treatises is given by the -fact that "The Parson's Tale" in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" is nothing -more or less than such a treatise on penitence, divided into three parts, -viz. Contrition, Confession, and Satisfaction; in the course of which the -Seven Deadly Sins, with their remedies, are dealt with in the usual -manner. - -People bestowed a great deal of ingenuity in representing these systems of -teaching by diagrams. A MS. Psalter of the thirteenth century (Arundel, -83) gives a number of them;[218] at f. 129 _verso_ is the _Arbor -Vitiorum_, a tree with seven principal branches, viz. the Seven Deadly -Sins, and their subordinate boughs and twigs as above. At f. 120 is the -_Arbor Virtutum_, treated in a similar way. At f. 130 the Seven Petitions -of the Lord's Prayer, the Seven Sacraments, the Seven Vices, and the Seven -Virtues, are arranged in a device so as to give their relations to one -another; and there are similar devices on f. 2 _verso_, and the two -following pages. Such devices were sometimes painted on the walls of -churches. - - GRATIA. - Pax. || Contricio. - Indulgencia. || Compassio. - Concordia. || Miserecordia. - \-----------------\ || /---------------------/ - \ || / - CARI||TAS. - || - Virginitas. || Contemplatio. - || - Puritas. | Munditia. || Paciencia. | Contricio. - Continentia. | Simplicitas. || Gaudium. | Confessio. - Castitas. | Devotio. || Disciplina. | Penitentia. - || - FIDES. || SPES. - \----------------\ || /------------------/ - \||/ - Donat' || Spiritus. - || - Vita. || Moralitas. - || - Lex. | Correctio. || Jejunium. | Moderatio. - Judicium. | Severitas. || Sobrietas. | Benignitas. - Juris | Rectitudo. || Contemptus | Tolerantia. - observantia.| || mundi. | - || - JUSTITIA. || TEMPERANTIA. - \-----------------\ || /----------------/ - \||/ - Via || Vit. - || - Timor Dei. || Quies. - Vigilancia. | Racio. || Stabilitas. | Perseverancia. - Consilium. | Tractabilitas. || Silencium. | Non deject' in - | || | prosperis. - Providencia. | Discretio. || Longanimitas. | Non excess' in - || prosperis. - || - PRUDENCIA. || FORTITUDO. - \------------------\ || /-----------------/ - \||/ - || - [Picture of [Picture of || [Picture of [Picture of - Prudencia.] Justicia.] || Fortitudo.] Temperancia.] - - -------------------------------------------- - Radix Virtutum Humilitas. - -------------------------------------------- - ARBOR VIRTVTVM. - - PRECIPITATIO. - || - Amor sui. || Odium dei. - Inconsideratio. || Instabilitas. - Incontinentia. || Affect' Seculi. - || - ------- Lux||uria. ------------ - / \ || / \ - / \ || / \ - GULA. \ || / ACCIDIA. - \ || / - Eletuso sensis. | Immundicia. \ || /Mentis vagacio. | Pusillanimitas. - Saurilitus. | Multiloquium.\||/ Occositas. | Error in fide. - Inepta Letitia. | Crapula. || Tristicia. | Bonor' omissio. - || - Ebrietas. || Desperacio. - --------- || ----------- - / \ || / \ - / \ || / \ - IRA. \ || / INANIS GLORIA. - \ || / - Rixa. | Metus Timor. \ || / Inobedientia. | Presumpcio. - Clamor. | Indignacio. \||/ Singularitas. | Jactantia. - Blasfemie. | Furor. || Discordia. | Obstructio. - || - Odium. || Ypocrisis. - || - -------- || ---------- - / \ || / \ - / \ || / \ - AVARICIA. \ || / INVIDIA. - \ || / - \ Serpent/ - Fraus. | Rapina. \ || /Doli machinatio.|Detractio. - Furta. | Prodicio. \ || / Scelus. |Dolor in prosperis. - Penuria. | Usura. \||/ Susurium. |Plaus in adversis. - || - Simonia. || Homicidium. - || - Figure of the angel. || Figure of B.V.M. - || - [Picture of Dives Avarus.] || [Picture of Pauper Superbus.] - - ------------------------------------ - Radix Viciorum Superbia. - -------------------------------- - ARBOR VICIORVM. - -The pictorial representation of type and antitype seems to have had an -interest for them. So early as the seventh century, Benedict Biscop -brought pictures from Gaul and Italy to adorn his monasteries on the Tyne, -and among them were one pair of Isaac bearing the wood for the sacrifice, -and our Lord carrying His cross; another pair the brazen serpent and our -Lord upon the cross. In the King's MS. 5 are a series of pictures arranged -in three columns; in the middle a subject from the history of our Lord, -and on each side two Old Testament types. The "Biblia Pauperum" of the -fifteenth and sixteenth centuries consisted of a similar arrangement of -gospel histories, with Old Testament types. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARISH PRIESTS. - - -A flood of light is thrown upon the subject of a priest's duties in his -parish by the handbooks which seem to have been as common in the -thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as they are in the nineteenth; -instructing, advising, exhorting the clergy as to their duties, and the -best way of fulfilling them. The Early English Text Society has printed -one of these entitled, "Instructions for Parish Priests," written by John -Myrk, a canon of Lilleshall, in Shropshire, not the same man who wrote the -"Liber Festivalis." The oldest MS. of it belongs to the first half of the -fifteenth century. It will answer our purpose to give a rather complete -analysis of the book, spelling some words in modern fashion, in order to -make it more intelligible, without much altering the substance. - -It begins:-- - - Whenne the blynde ledeth the blynde, - Into the dyche they fallen both. - -[Illustration: BAPTISM BY AFFUSION. FROM THE XV. CENT. MS. EGERTON, 2019 -f. 135.] - -[Illustration: BAPTISM BY IMMERSION. FROM THE XIV. CENT. MS., ROYAL 6 E. -VI., f. 171.] - -So, our author says, ignorant priests lead their people into sin; -therefore, if you are not a great clerk, you will do well to read this -book, where you will find-- - - How thou schalt thy parische teche - And what thou must thyself be. - For lytel is worth thy prechynge, - If thou be of evil lyvynge. - -Which is certainly a very wholesome exordium. - -Then he begins his instructions-- - - Preste; thy self thou moste be chaste, - And say thy service withouten haste, - That mouthe and heart accord i fere,[219] - If thou wilt that God thee hear. - -And so he goes on: He must be true in heart and hand, eschew oaths, be -mild to all, put away drunkenness, gluttony, pride, sloth, and envy. He -must not frequent taverns, or make merchandise, or indulge in wrestling, -shooting, hawking, hunting, dancing; wear cutted (slashed) clothes, or -piked shoes; not frequent markets or fairs. He must wear proper clothes, -must not wear basilard or baldrick, must keep his beard and crown shaven; -be free of meat and drink to rich and poor; forsake women, avoid foolish -jesting, despise the world, and cultivate virtue. We recognize that the -author is giving a summary of all the canons on the subject of the life of -the clergy. - -[Illustration: Confession. (From Chaucer's "Romaunt of the Rose," Harl. -4425, f. 143.)] - -He goes on to the priest's duties. He is not to let men go on in sin, but -urge them to speedy confession lest they forget before Lent. He is to bid -women with child to come to confession and holy communion, - - For dread of peril that may befall - In their travailing that come shall. - -If a child is in danger of death, the midwife or the father or mother is -to baptize it; and he is to teach people what is the proper form, "I -folowe (baptize) thee, or, I christen thee, in the name of, etc." All -children born within eight days of Easter or of Whitsunday, are to be -brought to baptism at those seasons, unless they are in danger of death. -He is to instruct godparents to teach their god-children the Our Father -and Creed; and to bring them to be bishoped within their fifth year; but -the sponsors at the baptism are not to hold the child at the -confirming.[220] Relatives by spiritual ties as well as by blood, are not -to marry, and he defines these spiritual relationships. Irregular -marriages are cursed. Banns are to be asked on three holy days, and then -the parties are to be openly wedded at the church door. He is to bid all -who are of years of discretion to come to church to confession, and to -receive communion on Easter Day all together:[221] - - Teach them then with good intent - To beleve in that sacrament - What they receive in form of bread - It is God's body that suffered dead[222] - Upon the holy rood tree, - To buy our sins and make us free. - - Every Sunday a "holy loaf"[223] provided by the charity of some one of - the laity was cut in pieces, and a piece given to all who came up to - receive it: the authority for this practice was no doubt the - primitive love-feast. But when it was not the custom for the laity to - communicate, this was given as a sort of representation of and - substitute for the consecrated bread, and it was attended by a good - deal of superstition. A question in the "Lay Folks' Mass-book" seems - to indicate that it was required that people should receive it and eat - it, fasting, every Sunday-- - - Hast thou eaten any Sonday - Withouten holy bred? Say yea or nay; - - and a return by the vicar of Leominster of the sources of his income, - seems to indicate that a payment for this holy bread was customary in - some places (see p. 404). - -He is to teach that, after receiving the Consecrated Bread at Easter, what -is given them afterwards in the chalice is only wine and water to assist -in the swallowing it completely: - - But teach them all to 'lieve sudde[224] - That it which is on the altar made - It is very God's blood - That He shed on the rood. - -Teach the people when they go to church to leave behind idle speech and -jests, and light behaviour, and say their paternoster and creed. Not to -stand or lean against pillar or wall, but set themselves on their knees on -the floor, and pray to God with meek heart to give them grace and mercy. -When the gospel is read, they are to stand and bless Him as well as they -can, and when _gloria tibi_ is done, they are to kneel down again; and -when the sacring-bell rings, they are to hold both hands up and say -softly, without noise-- - - Jesu, Lord, welcome thou be, - In forme of bred as I Thee see; - Jesu for thy holy name - Shield me to-day from sin and shame. - Shrift and housel, Lord, thou grant me bo[225] - Ere that I shall hennes[226] go, - And true contrycion of my sin - That I Lord never die therein. - And as thou wert of a may[227] y'bore, - Suffer me never to be forelore; - But when that I shall hennes wend - Graunt me thi blysse withouten ende. Amen. - - Teche them thus or some othere thynge, - To say at the holy sakerynge. - -[In the "Lay Folks' Mass-book" the following short verse is given to be -said in this place-- - - Welcome, Lord, in form of bread, - For me thou suffered hard deed? - As thou didst bear the crown of thorn - Suffer me not to be forlorn.] - -He is to teach them when they walk in the way, and see the priest bearing -"God's body" to the sick, to kneel down, whether the way be fair or -foul.[228] And then comes a gross bit of superstition which he fathers on -St. Augustine: - - So mickle good doth that syht, - As Saint Austen teacheth wryht, - -that on that day the devout beholder shall have meat and drink, God will -forgive idle oaths and words, and he need not fear sudden death nor loss -of sight. Within the church and "seyntuary"[229] people are not to sing -or cry; not to cast the axtre or stone, or play bull and bears in the -churchyard. Courts and such-like contentions are not to be held in church. -Teach them duly to pay their tithe--but, he breaks off jestingly, it is -not necessary to teach a priest how to ask for his tithe. Witchcraft and -usury are forbidden, and so is selling at too high a price. - -Next he gives metrical paraphrases of the Lord's Prayer, Ave and Creed, -with a brief explanation of the Creed, and a curious illustration of the -doctrine of the Trinity:-- - - Water and ice and eke snowe, - Here be thre things as ye may see, - And yet the three all water be. - -Then he gives a long instruction on the right administration of baptism, -and on confirmation:-- - - Which in lewde men's menyng, - Is y-called the bishoping. - - The bishop confirmeth and maketh sad[230] - That that the priest before hath made,[231] - Wherefore the name that is then y-spoke - Must stand firm as it were loke,[232] - -which is an interesting allusion to the right of altering the Christian -name at Confirmation. - -Then comes a general sentence of excommunication[233] to be said two or -three times a year when the parish is met together, with cross and -candle and bell tolling. It declares that all persons are accursed who -break the peace of the church, or rob it, or withhold tithes; all -slanderers, fire raisers, thieves, heretics, usurers, etc., etc. Then the -candle is to be thrown down, and the priest is to spit on the ground, and -the bells to ring. This general sentence of excommunication is clearly the -origin of the form of Commination still said on Ash Wednesday. - -[Illustration: CONFIRMATION. FROM A PRINTED PONTIFICAL, A.D. 1520 (471, f. -2).] - -Then comes an instruction on the mode of hearing confessions, and some -practical advice on the kind of penances to give, _e.g._ if the penitent -does not know the Pater, Ave, and Creed, he is to have such a penance set -as will make him learn them; and he is to be examined as to his belief. - -Next, as part of the instruction in the art of confession, comes a -practical exposition of the ten commandments one by one; and in the same -way an exposition of the seven deadly sins and of the venial sins; and of -the sins of the senses; in all which we recognize a digest of Archbishop -Peckham's famous canon of instruction for preaching; then come counsels as -to the remedies for the seven deadly sins. Then an instruction on the -administration of Extreme Unction, with a kind of Office for the -Visitation of the Sick. - - When thou shalt to sick gone - A clean surplice cast thee on, - Take thy stole with thee right, - And pull thy hood over thy sight. - Bear thy Host anont[234] thy breast - In a box that is honest. - Make thy clerk before thee gynge[235] - To bear light and bell ring.[236] - -This is the prayer of the sick before the unction-- - - My God, my God, my mercy and my refuge, Thee I desire, to Thee I flee, - to Thee I hasten to come. Despise me not, placed in this tremendous - crisis, be merciful to me in these my great necessities. I cannot - redeem myself by my own works; but do Thou my God redeem me, and have - mercy on me. I trust not in my merits, but I confide rather in Thy - mercies, and I trust more in Thy mercies than I distrust my evil - deeds. My faults, my great faults. Now I come to Thee because Thou - failest none, I desire to depart and be with Thee. Into Thy hands, O - Lord, I commend my spirit, Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. - Amen. And grant to me, my God, that I may sleep and rest in peace, who - in perfect Trinity livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen. - -[Illustration: PARISH PRIEST TAKING THE LAST SACRAMENT TO THE SICK. XIV. -CENT. MS., 6 E. VI., f. 427 verso.] - -[Illustration: PARISH PRIEST ADMINISTERING LAST SACRAMENT. XIV. CENT. MS., -6 E. VII., f. 70.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -POPULAR RELIGION. - - -In Saxon times, the Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Ten Commandments were taught -to the people in their own tongue, sometimes in metrical paraphrases, that -they might the more easily be remembered, and every parent was required to -teach them to his children. - -A canon of the Synod of Clovesho, in 747, required the priest to explain -everything in the Divine service to the people, and the Gospel for the day -was read to them in the vernacular. The poem of Cdmon, which paraphrased -large portions of the Old Testament history, was not the only use of the -native poetry for the purpose of popularizing the truths of religion; we -call to mind how Aldhelm used to sit on the parapet of the bridge over -which the country-people must needs pass into Malmesbury, and sing to them -religious poems, to the accompaniment of his harp. King Alfred translated -the psalms, and there were various other versions of the psalms and other -portions of Scripture. - - * * * * * - -Education was much more common among the laity of the Middle Ages than is -sometimes supposed. The French books of piety and of romance in the -thirteenth century presuppose people capable of reading them. Grostete's -"Castle of Love" was a religious allegory, in which, under the ideas of -chivalry, the fundamental articles of Christian belief are represented. By -the middle of the fourteenth century, English had become a literary -language, and works of all kinds were written in it. Wiclif did not -translate the Bible from Latin into English for the clergy; they would -rightly prefer to continue to read it in the Latin of the Vulgate; he -wrote it for the laity, and we know that it was largely circulated among -them. The poems of Lydgate and Gower, "Piers Plowman," and the Canterbury -Tales, the numerous romances, and the religious tracts of Wiclif and -Robert of Hampole, had numerous readers; and for those readers books of -devotion were largely provided. - -Robert de Brunne's "Handlyng of Synne," in 1303, was a translation of the -French "Manuel des Pechiez" of the previous century. The "Meditacyuns of -the Soper of oure Lorde Ihesu," in 1303, was a translation of the -"Meditationes Vit Christi" of Cardinal Bonaventure. - -"The Pricke of Conscience," by Richard Rolle, the Hermit of Hampole, and -"The Ayenbite of Inwit" (Remorse of Conscience), completed in 1340,[237] -are translations of "Le Somme des Vices et des Vertus," composed in 1279. -The "Parson's Tale" in Chaucer's "Canterbury Pilgrims," is in part a -translation from the same book. The "Lay Folks' Mass-book," or manner of -hearing mass, with rubrics and devotions for the people, and offices in -English according to the Use of York, is an evidence that pains was taken -to enable the people to enter intelligently into the Latin service. It was -written in French by Dan Jeremy, Canon of Rouen, afterwards Archdeacon of -Cleveland, in about the year 1170, and was translated into English towards -the close of the thirteenth century. - - * * * * * - -The "Lay Folks' Mass-book" is well worth more space than we can afford it -here, as a curious illustration of the popular religion. It explains the -meaning of the service, and of the ritual, tells the worshipper when to -stand and kneel, and puts private devotions into his mouth in rhyme, for -their better remembrance. There are numerous MSS. of these books still -existing, and when the art of printing was discovered, they were among the -books early printed, so that we have reason to believe that they were in -general demand and use among the laity. - -We learn that it was the custom for the parish priest to vest at the -altar--the old parish churches seldom had vestries: - - When the altar is all dight, - And the priest is washed right, - Then he takes in both his hands - A chesepull[238] cloth on the altar hangs, - And comes aback a little down, - And does it upon him all aboune. - All men kneeling, but he stands, - And holds to God up both his handes. - -When the priest and clerks confess to one another, the worshipper is -directed also to make his confession in a form given. - -After the confession the people stand, and the priest begins the service; -the worshipper is told to pray for him, and the hearers, and their -friends, and for "peace and rest that lastes ay to Christian souls passed -away," and to all men. Next is given a rhyming English version of the -_Gloria in Excelsis_, to be said while the priest is saying it in Latin. -The people kneel and say _Pater nosters_ through the Collect and Epistle; -when the priest crosses to the south corner of the altar to read the -Gospel, then the people are to stand and make a cross, and take good heed, -and say this prayer-- - - In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, - One steadfast God of might most, - Be God's word welcome to me, - Joy and love, Lord, be to Thee. - -Again at the end of the Gospel make another cross and kiss it. While the -Mass (Nicene) Creed is being said, say the Apostles' Creed, as given in a -rhymed version-- - - I trow[239] in God, father of might - That all has wrought, - Heaven and earth, day and night, - And all of nought, etc. - -At the end is a very curious perversion of the clause of the Communion of -Saints: _Communio Sanctorum_ is translated as if it were _Concomitantia -Sanctorum_-- - - And so I trow that housel is - Both flesh and blood. - -After that comes the offertory; offer or not, as you please;[240] but in -either case say the following prayer-- - - Jesu, that wast in Bethlem bore, - Three kings once kneeled Thee before, - And offered gold, myrrh, and incense; - Thou disdained not their presents, - But didst guide them all the three - Home again to their country. - So our offerings that we offer, - And our prayers that we proffer, - Take them, Lord, to Thy praise, - And be our help through all our days. - -Then when the priest turns to the people and asks their prayers, kneel and -pray for him. When the priest comes to the middle of the altar and says -_sursum corda_, then lift up your heart and body, and praise God with the -angels-- - - Sweet Jesu grant me now this - That I may come to Thy bliss, - There with angels for to sing, - The sweet song of Thy loving, - Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, - God Grant that it be thus. - -Kneel when the canon of the mass begins, and offer thanksgivings for -talents of nature, right mind, grace in perils, etc.; pray for pardon, -grace, strength for the future; make intercessions for church, king, -nobility, kinsmen, friends, servants, for the afflicted, sick, captive, -poor, banished, dispossessed; pray for God's ordering of the world, for -good weather, that He will - - The fruits of the earth make plenteous; - All Thou seest best ordain for us, - Such grace to us Thou send, - That in our last end, - When this world and we shall sever, - Bring us to joy that lasts for ever. Amen. - -[Illustration: ADMINISTERING HOLY COMMUNION WITH HOUSEL CLOTH. EARLY XIV. -CENT. MS., ROYAL, 2 B VII., f. 260 v.] - -At the sacring bell do reverence to Jesus Christ's presence, holding up -both hands, and looking upon the elevation;[241] and if you have nothing -better prepared to say, say this which follows-- - - Loved be Thou, king, - And blessed be Thou, king, - Of all thy giftes good; - And thanked be Thou, king, - Jesu, all my joying, - That for me spilt Thy blood. - And died upon the rood. - Thou give me grace to sing, - The song of thy loving. - - Pater noster. Ave maria. Credo. - -After the sacring, pray for the dead, that they may have part in this -mass:-- - - When the priest the elevation has made - He will spread his arms on-brade,[242] - Then is the time to pray for the dead, - Father's soul, mother's soul, brother dear, - Sister's souls, sibmen, and other sere,[243] - That us good would, or us good did, - Or any kindness unto us kyd. - And to all in purgatory pine - This mass be mede and medicine; - To all Christian souls holy - Grant Thy grace and Thy mercy; - Forgive them all their trespass, - Loose their bonds and let them pass - From all pine and care, - Into the joy lasting evermore. Amen. - -Listen for the priest to begin _Pater noster_, and be ready to answer at -_temptationem_, _Sed libera nos a malo. Amen._ And then say the Lord's -Prayer to yourself as here given-- - - Fader our, that is in heaven, - Blessed be Thy name to neven.[244] - Come to us Thy kingdom. - In heaven and earth Thy will be done. - Our ilk-day bread grant us to-day, - And our misdeeds forgive us aye, - As we do them that trespass us - Right so have mercy upon us, - And lead us in no founding, - But shield us from all wicked thing. Amen. - -At the _Pax_ pray for peace and charity. Lastly, he is to pray for the -grace of having heard the mass, making it a kind of spiritual communion-- - - Jesu my King, I pray to Thee, - Bow down thine ears of pity, - And hear my prayer in this place. - - * * * * * - - We pray this mass us stand in stead - Of shrift and als[245] of housel bread. - And Jesu, for Thy woundes five, - Teach us the way of right-wise live. Amen. - -After all is over, he is to utter a final thanksgiving:-- - - God be thanked of all his works, - God be thanked for priests and clerks, - God be thanked for ilk a man. - And I thank God all I can, etc. - -Then there follows an example of the superstition with which sound -doctrine was vitiated. Every step, this book teaches, that a man makes to -attendance at mass is noted by the guardian angel, that day a man does not -age nor become blind, he has God's pardon if he goes to confession, and -if he die it avails him as the viaticum. - - * * * * * - -The Primers were books for the private devotion of the laity. They began -at an early period, and from the fourteenth century onward they were often -wholly or in part translated into English. The latest of them put forth by -the king's authority, in 1545, contained "the Kalendre, the king's -highnesse Injunction, the Salutation of the Angel, the Crede or Articles -of the Faith, the Ten Commandments, certain graces, the matyns, the -evensong, the complen, the seven [penitential] psalmes, the commendations, -the psalmes of the passion, the passion of our Lorde, certeine godly -prayers for sundry purposes." - - * * * * * - -The "Myrroure of our Ladye," written for the nuns of Sion, is a -translation of their services into English, with an explanation of their -meaning. It became a favourite book of devotion to the laity, and was -printed at an early period. The writer explains that he has thought it -necessary to translate only a few of the psalms, because they may be found -in Hampole's Version, or in the English Bibles, a passing testimony to the -accessibility of these books. The tone of the book may be indicated by one -extract. "There is neither reading nor singing that may please God of -itself, but after the disposition of the reader or singer, thereafter it -pleaseth or displeaseth." - -"Dives and Pauper" was another of the popular English books, written -probably about the middle of the fifteenth century, and early printed. It -is in the form of a dialogue between a rich man and a poor man, in which -the poor man occupies the place of teacher. It begins with an essay on -Holy Poverty, and then goes on to an excursive exposition of the Ten -Commandments; for example, under the first commandment, the author shows -how imagery is lawful, and how images were ordained for three causes. 1. -To stir men's minds to think on Christ and the saints. 2. To stir their -affections; and 3. To be a book for the unlearned. He explains that -"worship to God and the Lamb, done before images, should properly not be -done to such images." "Christ is the cross that men creep to on Good -Friday." "For this reason," he says, "be crosses by the way that when folk -passing see the crosses they should think on Him that died on the cross, -and worship Him above all thing." And, similarly, he gives the rationale -of a number of practices. - - * * * * * - -The Anglo-Saxon poems attributed to Cdmon are said by the critics to be, -in their present form, probably not of earlier date than the eleventh -century. In any case, they are very remarkable productions of a school of -native poetry; and we think it worth while to give some examples of them. -The first is taken from the account of the Creation-- - - Here the eternal Lord, Head of Creation - In the beginning shaped the universe, - The sky upreared, and this fair spacious earth - By His strong might was stablished evermore. - As yet no verdure decked the new-born world; - The ocean far and wide in deepest night - Concealed the universe. Then o'er the deep - Was swiftly borne on bright and radiant wing, - The spirit of the Lord. The mighty King - Bade Light come forth far o'er the spacious deep, - And instantly His high behest was done, - And holy Light shone brightly o'er the waste, - Fulfilling His command. In triumph then - He severed light from darkness, and to both - The Lord of Life gave names; and holy light - Firstborn of all created things, beauteous - And bright, above all creatures fair, - He called the Day ... - Then time past o'er the quivering face of earth, - And Even, first at God's command dispelled - The radiant Day, till onward rolled the dark - And murky cloud which God Himself called Night, - Chasing away the Even's twilight gleam. - - * * * * * - -Next we take the poet's conception of Satan and his fall-- - - Of old - The King eternal by His sovereign might - Ordained ten Angel tribes, of equal rank, - With beauty, power and wisdom richly dowered; - And in the host Angelic, whom, in love, - He moulded in His own similitude, - He evermore reposed a holy trust - To work His will in loving loyalty, - And added by His grace, celestial wit - And bliss unspeakable. - - One of the host - Angelic He endowed with peerless might - And arch intelligence. To him alone - The Lord of Hosts gave undisputed sway - O'er all the Angel tribes, exalted high, - Above all Principalities and Powers, - That next to God omnipotent he stood - O'er all created things, lone and supreme. - So heavenly fair and beauteous was his form, - Fashioned by God Himself, that by compare, - Less glorious spirits grew dim; e'en as the stars - In God's fixed belt, pale in the glowing light - Of nine resplendent spheres. - - Long had he reigned, - August Vicegerent of the Heavenly King, - But for presumptuous pride which filled the heart - With dire ingratitude and hostile thoughts - Against the eternal throne. - Nor was it hid from God's omniscient eye - That this archangel, though beloved still, - Began to harbour dark presumptuous thoughts, - And in rebellion rise against his God - With words of pride and hate. - - For thus he spake - Within his traitorous heart: - - "No longer I, - With radiant form endowed and heavenly mien, - Will brook subjection to a tyrant God, - Or be His willing slave. Such power is mine, - Such goodly fellowship, I well believe - 'Tis greater e'en than God's own following." - With many a word of bold defiance spake - The Angel of Presumption; for he hoped - In heaven to rear a more exalted throne - And stronger, than the seats he now possessed. - Then moved by traitorous guile he built in thought - Vast palaces within the northern realm, - And richer western plains of Paradise, - And evermore he dwelled in doubtful mood - Whether 'twere better in acknowledged war - To risk his high estate, or prostrate fall - Mock-loyal as his God's inferior. - - * * * * * - - When the All-Powerful in secret knew - The great presumption of His Angel-chief, - - * * * * * - - Heavenly Justice hurled him from his throne, - And cast him headlong down the burning gulf - Which leads to deepest hell. - - For three long days - And three successive nights the apostate falls - Forgotten with his lone rebellious tribe. - - * * * * * - - Then Satan sorrowing spake-- - "This straitened place, - O how unlike those heavenly seats where once - In heaven's high kingdom we as princes reigned. - - * * * * * - - 'Tis this most grieves - My anxious heart, that earthborn man should hold - My glorious seat and dwell in endless joy, - While we in Hell's avenging horrors pine. - - * * * * * - - Here then lies - Our only hope of adequate revenge-- - To ruin, if we may, this new-born man, - And on his race eternal woe entail." - - * * * * * - -Next a brief fragment from the account of Satan's invasion of Paradise-- - - Without delay the Apostate Angel donned - His glistening arms, and lightly on his head - His helmet bound, secured with many a clasp, - And started toward his fatal enterprise. - High toward the fiery concave first he shot, - A spiry column, bright with lurid flame, - Showed where he took his flight. The gates of Hell - Were quickly left behind as lion-like - In strength, and desperate in fiendish mood - He dashed the fire aside. - - * * * * * - - Onward he took his way, and soon descried - Far off the trembling light of this fair world. - - * * * * * - - Ere long amid the shade - Of Eden's fair wide-spreading foliage - He saw the Parents of Mankind; the man - Whose comely form bespoke a wise design, - And by his side, radiant with guileless youth, - His God-created spouse. Above them spread - Two trees rich laden with immortal fruit.[246] - -The parallelism with the "Paradise Lost" is, in many places, so striking -that we should conclude that Milton knew the work of his predecessor by so -many centuries, if we were not assured that the work was unknown in -Milton's day. - -The publications of the Early English Text Society have made known a -considerable number of religious treatises, tracts, poems, and short -pieces in the English language, which throw light upon the popular -religion of the three centuries from the thirteenth to the fifteenth. - -Legendary histories of saints and apocryphal stories indicate the general -acceptance of the marvellous; addresses to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or by -her to the soul, bear witness to the existence of a general veneration for -the virgin mother, but the tone of them is more calm and chastened than -the addresses in some of the popular Italian devotions; there are others -which give sound teaching; and others which reveal the existence of a -strain of profound and pathetic religious sentiment in the heart of the -people. - -Here from a MS. of the fifteenth century[247] is a poem of six stanzas, -every stanza ending with the line, "Why art thou froward since I am -merciable?" It begins-- - - Upon a cross nailed I was for thee, - I suffered death to pay thy raunison;[248] - Forsake thy synne for the love of Me, - Be repentant, make plain confession. - To contrite hearts I give remission; - Be not despaired, for I am not vengeable; - 'Gainst ghostly enemies, think on my Passion; - Why art thou froward since I am merciable? - -Another fifteenth-century poem, whose theme is taken from Solomon's Song, -the love of Christ for man's soul, concludes every eight-line stanza with -the text, _Quia amore langueo_.[249] Here are two stanzas-- - - Upon this mount I found a tree, - Under this tree a man sitting; - From head to foot wounded was he. - His heart's blood I saw bleeding; - A seemly man to be a king, - A gracious face to look unto; - I asked him how he had paining,[250] - He said _Quia amore langueo_. - - I am true-love that false was never, - My sister, man's soul, I loved her thus, - Because I would not from her dissever - I left my kingdom glorious; - I provide for her a palace precious; - She fleeth, I follow, I sought her so. - I suffered the pain piteous, - _Quia amore langueo_. - - I crowned her with bliss, and she me with scorn, - I led her to chamber, and she me to die; - I brought her to worship, and she me to scorn, - I did her reverence, and she me villainy, etc. - -Another favourite theme was a pathetic "Complaint of Christ," in which He -sets before man all that He has done for him, in creation, in providence, -in redemption, and appeals against his unkindness. The refrain of every -stanza is, "Why art thou to thy friend unkind?" Here is a stanza of it-- - - Man, I love thee! Whom lovest thou? - I am thy friend, why wilt thou feign? - I forgave, and thou Me slew; - Who hath de-parted our love in twain? - Turne to Me! Bethink thee how - Thou hast gone amiss! Come home again! - And thou shalt be as welcome now - As he that synne never did stain. - Man! bethink thee what thou art; - From whence thou come, and whither thou move, - For though thou to-day be in health and quarte,[251] - To-morrow I may put thee adown. - I forgave, and thou sayest nay, - Why art thou to thy friend unkind? - I have bought thy love full dear, - Unkind! why forsakest thou mine? - I gave thee mine heart and blood in fere, - Unkind! why wilt thou not give Me thine? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY. - - -The enforcement of celibacy upon the clergy was an important feature in -the plan of the Hildebrandine reformers of the eleventh century. The idea -which inspired the enthusiasm of the foremost Churchmen of the time was, -no doubt, a grand one. It was to bring the national churches into -practical co-operation by a world-wide ecclesiastical organization, and to -place the spiritual authority of the whole Church in the hand of one man, -in order to control the world-power of kings and princes, and check the -manifold abuses which at that time especially threatened to corrupt and -secularize the Church. The clergy were intended in the Hildebrandine -scheme to be the Pope's local agents in the administration of this -ecclesiastical monarchy; and in order to detach them from secular and -local ties it was proposed to make the secular clergy a kind of Religious -Order--an anticipation, in some respects, of the organization of the -subsequent Orders of Friars. - -We must do the authors of the scheme the justice to remember that they -honestly believed that the celibate state--not the mere accident of being -unmarried, but the chosen and vowed state--was a higher condition of life; -and it was easy to apply St. Paul's advice to those who could accept it, -to the special condition of the clergy:--"The unmarried (priest) careth -for the things of the Lord, that (he) may be holy both in body and spirit, -but the married (priest) careth for the things of the world." It was easy -to draw a contrast between the parish priest with a wife and family, bound -by a thousand ties to the ordinary interests and anxieties of the world, -and the celibate priest, who wants nothing beyond the priest's chamber and -his humble fare, and who gives his whole mind and soul to his daily -devotions and his spiritual ministrations among his flock; his rusty -cassock a uniform as honourable as the soldier's war-stained coat, his -ascetic life ensuring the reverence which even the worldly-minded pay to -those who despise worldly things. - -To the fulfilment of this idea the great body of the secular clergy in -Germany, Italy, and France, as well as England, offered for centuries a -stubborn resistance. They stood on the irrefragable ground that the -priests and Levites of the Old Dispensation were married men; that our -Lord and His apostles gave no such commandment to the Church; that, as a -matter of history, some of the apostles were married men; and that for ten -centuries bishops and priests of the Church all over the world had -married. It was obvious to reply to the supposed advantages of a -priesthood disentangled from worldly anxieties, that, on the contrary, it -was desirable for the pastors in immediate habitual intercourse with the -people to be men who had property and families, because then they could -deal with men on the ground of common interests and sympathies; and that -to impose compulsory celibacy on the secular clergy was a measure full of -the gravest dangers. - -The majority of the clergy probably were influenced by the broad common -sense which pronounced the ultramontane idea to be unscriptural, -transcendental, novel, and, therefore, questionable; and, lastly, a burden -which no one had the right to impose upon the unwilling. Some of them -tauntingly desired the pope to see if he could get the spirits from above -to leave their stations and come and rule the Churches under his Holiness, -since men were not good enough for him. - -The attempt to introduce celibacy among the secular clergy had been begun -in the latter part of the Saxon period. We have seen that kings made laws -and bishops made canons against the married clergy. We cannot have better -evidence than that of lfric's famous pastoral address, that the Saxon -clergy generally had ignored these laws and canons, and that it had not -been found practicable to enforce them. lfric declares that-- - - The Four General Councils forbade all marriages to ministers of the - altar, and especially to mass-priests [which is a misstatement], and - that the canons command that no bishop nor priest shall have in his - house any woman except his mother or other person who is above - suspicion. "This, to you priests," he says, "will seem grievous, - because ye have your misdeeds in custom" [you are accustomed to - married priests], "so that it seems to yourselves that ye have no sin - in living in female intercourse as laymen do, and say that Peter the - Apostle had a wife and children. So he and others had before their - conversion, but then forsook their wives and all earthly things" - [which is, to say the least, a doubtful assumption]. "Beloved," he - goes on, "we cannot now forcibly compel you to chastity, but we - admonish you nevertheless that ye observe chastity as Christ's - ministers ought in good reputation to the pleasure of God." - -Gregory VII., in the Fourth Lateran Council, in 1074, took a step in -advance of previous legislation on the subject. He peremptorily forbade -marriage to the clergy, pronounced sentence of excommunication against -those who refused to put away their wives, and forbade the laity to be -present at mass when they officiated. - -In adopting this legislation in England, Lanfranc considerably modified -it. In the Synod of Winchester, in 1076, it was decreed that no canon -should be married; the married parochial clergy were not required to put -away their wives, but those who were not married were forbidden to take -any; and bishops were required not to ordain deacons or priests unless -they declare that they have not wives. But this legislation seems to have -been largely ignored, and the disobedience winked at. - -In 1102, a national synod, held at Westminster, under Anselm of -Canterbury and Gerard of York, sought to draw the line more strictly. It -enacted that no canon, and no one above the order of sub-deacon, might -marry; required those who were married to put away their wives; forbade a -married priest to say mass, and the people to hear him. It added another -edict, to which we shall have to refer hereafter--that sons of priests -were not to succeed to their fathers' benefices. - -It was soon found that it was not possible to enforce these decrees, and -the Pope was appealed to on the question. He was so convinced of the -difficulty, that he dispensed with the canons, and in a letter (1107) to -Anselm gave reasons for so doing, which contain valuable evidence of the -condition of things. He founded the dispensation on the particular -circumstances of the English Church, where, he observes, the greater and -more valuable part of the clergy were the sons of priests, and therefore -he gives Anselm a commission to promote such persons in the Church. He -likewise empowers him to dispense with the canons in other cases where the -untractableness of the English and the interest of religion should make it -necessary. Anselm's canons were repeated by William of Canterbury and -Thurstan of York in 1126 and 1127, but were met with a stubborn -resistance.[252] - -After a short time bishops and great dignitaries ceased to be married men, -and sought to enforce the canons on celibacy which they helped to make. -Cathedral dignitaries also generally paid outward respect to the canons, -but some of them had unacknowledged wives.[253] - -In 1128, at a national synod held in London, the synod resigned the -dealing with the recalcitrant clergy into the king's hands. The king -(Henry I.) disappointed the archbishops by abstaining from any attempt to -enforce celibacy on the clergy, but he ingeniously took advantage of the -opportunity to raise a revenue out of them by permitting the clergy to -retain their wives on payment of a fee for the licence to do so. The king -was said to have raised a great sum of money by this device, which implies -that a great number of the clergy were married and retained their wives. -King John, on the publication of the Interdict, seized the wives of the -clergy, and only released them on payment of heavy ransom. - -Synod after synod continued to legislate against them.[254] - - In 1222, a synod held at Oxford, under Archbishop Stephen Langton, - enacted that if beneficed men or men in sacred orders should presume - to retain their partners publicly in their dwelling-houses - (_hospitiis_), or should elsewhere have public access to them to the - public scandal, they should be coerced by the withdrawal of their - benefice; and that the clergy might not leave such partners (_i.e._ - wives) anything in their wills. It also attacked the poor wives, - enacting that if they did not leave their partners they should be - excluded from the church and the sacraments; if that did not suffice, - they should be stricken with the sword of excommunication; and, - lastly, the secular arm should be invoked against them.[255] - - Archbishop Richard of Wethershead, in 1229 or 1230 repeated the decree - that men of the order of sub-deacon and upwards who had married should - put away their wives, though they were unwilling and refused to - consent,[256] and if they persisted in having publicly a female - partner, should, after a first, second, and third warning, be deprived - of every benefice and office. - - St. Edmund the Canonized Archbishop, in 1234 or 1235, enacted that if - any clerics who had been suspended for incontinency should presume to - continue to exercise their office they should be deprived of their - benefices, and for their double fault _perpetuo damnentur_. He tries - to make the rectors inform against the clerics in their parishes, - threatening that if a case comes to his knowledge by common report - before the rector has given in his accusation against his brother, the - rector shall be taken to have known of it, and shall be punished as a - partaker in the sin. Lastly, he decrees that prelates (archdeacons, - officials, and rural deans) who presume to support such persons in - their iniquity, especially for the offer of money or of any other - temporal advantage, shall be subject to the same penalty. - - In 1237, Cardinal Otho came from Rome at the request of the king - (Henry III.), unknown to the nobles, and summoned a national council - at St. Paul's. It was understood that he was going to make strong - decrees against the abuses of the clergy, and especially against the - pluralists and the illegitimates, and feeling ran so high among the - clergy that the legate obtained from the king an attendance of some - nobles, and a guard of some armed knights and about two hundred - soldiers, who were placed in ambush for his protection. The decree - against the pluralists was so vehemently opposed that the cardinal - postponed this question till the Pope could be appealed to. - - The canon against the married clergy declared that unless clerks, - especially those in holy orders, who publicly keep concubines in their - houses, or in those of others', dismiss them therefrom within a month, - they shall be suspended from every office and benefice, and if they - persist, shall be deprived. And "we strictly order that archbishops - and bishops shall make diligent inquiries throughout all their - deaneries, and that what we have decreed shall be observed." - - The canon on sons of priests forbade the prelates from presuming - henceforth under any pretext, or by any fraud, to appoint or admit any - to benefices which their fathers held by any kind of title, either to - the whole or to part, and that they who already hold such benefices - shall be deprived. - - In 1265, Cardinal Othobon presided over a national council at London, - which was of great authority, and was regarded subsequently as a rule - of discipline for the English Church, in which the preceding - legislation was again repeated. - - The Council of Reading, under Archbishop Peckham, in 1279, refers to - the canon of Othobon _contra concubinarios_, and orders that - archdeacons shall read it at their visitations and see that it is read - by the rural deans at their chapters (the laity being excluded), and - in case of neglect they shall fast on bread and water on the six week - days (unless infirmity hinder them) until they have read or caused it - to be read at the next chapter. - -Were the laity excluded to screen the infirmities of their pastors, or -because the expression of lay dissent would have encouraged the clergy in -their contumacy? May we conjecture that, in spite of the urgent commands -of the archbishop, the reading of the canon was often omitted, and that -the archdeacons and rural deans excused themselves from the consequent -penance under favour of the saving clause?[257] - -The legislation is itself a witness to the existence of the practices -which it tries to suppress. We need no further proof that in the -thirteenth century many of the clergy were married men, that in some cases -they lived openly with their wives in their dwelling-houses, or, in other -cases, they visited them openly in separate houses provided for them; that -they refused to give them up in spite of repeated synodical decrees; that -clerics who were not themselves married countenanced their married -brethren; that even the dignified officials whose business it was to take -proceedings against them, hung back from doing so. - -After the middle of the fourteenth century this subject disappears from -the acts of the synods; not because the clergy had come universally to -obey the former canons, but because the question had found a solution, -which we proceed to describe. Celibacy was confessedly not a Divine -ordinance, but an ecclesiastical regulation, and so long as the two evils -were avoided (1) of the parochial benefices being overburdened by the -demands of an avowed family; and (2) of the hereditary descent of -benefices by the absence of lawful heirs; the ecclesiastical authorities -might be satisfied with the obedience of a large proportion of the clergy, -and willing to connive at the solution of the question to which the rest -resorted. - -The solution was as follows: The secular cleric was not bound by any -Divine ordinance to celibacy, and did not, like the monks, take any vow of -celibacy on admission to Orders. It was only an ecclesiastical regulation; -and he took leave to evade the canon. If he married, the marriage was not -void in itself, it was only voidable if brought before the Ecclesiastical -Court during the lifetime of the parties; but he had taken his precautions -in view of that contingency; the marriage was irregularly performed in -some particular, or performed in such circumstances that it was incapable -of legal proof. It was something like the morganatic marriages of German -princes, illegal, derogatory, not conferring on wife and children the -status and rights of legal wife and children, but still not in fact, or in -the estimation of society, immoral and disreputable. - -It is notorious that in the fifteenth century there were many -ecclesiastics, from the popes downwards, who had wives, but not living in -their houses, and not presented to the world as wives,[258] and they had -children who were presented to the world as nephews and nieces. Warham, -the last Archbishop of Canterbury before the Reformation, is said (by -Erasmus[259]) to have had a wife who was not secluded from the knowledge -and society of his friends; Cranmer certainly married his second wife, the -niece of Osiander, before he was archbishop, and did not sever his ties -with her after he became archbishop. And it is clear that these relations -were not regarded as immoral and disgraceful; in fact, the common sense of -mankind gives easy absolution for the breach of inequitable laws.[260] - -But there is no doubt that the ambiguity of such relations, at the best, -laid open those who entered into them to just censure, and must have -lowered their own moral tone and that of those thus connected with them. -Neither is it to be denied that enforced celibacy, and the loose notions -encouraged by such connections as those here described, led to a certain -amount of profligacy which admits of no excuse or palliation. - -So the ultramontane policy at length won a victory--of a sort. It -succeeded in preventing the clergy from having wives by conniving at their -concubines; it left no legitimate sons of rectors to claim the heritage of -their fathers' benefices, and gave dispensations to their illegitimate -sons; it established a celibate priesthood, with all the scandals and -suspicions associated with it; it withdrew its clergy from the ordinary -affairs of life, and at the same time from the leadership of the current -practical life of the people. In a biting phrase of the time of Matthew -Paris, "The pope deprived the clergy of sons, and the devil sent them -nephews." - -We have given a--perhaps disproportionately--long chapter to a not very -agreeable subject; but it seemed desirable to take the pains necessary to -put the matter in its proper light, and not to allow the Englishmen of the -great period, from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, to lie under the -suspicion of being so ungodly that the clergy generally lived in open -immorality, and the laity thought little the worse of them for it. - - * * * * * - -An entry in a MS. Book of Ecclesiastical Causes reveals the possible -complications which might arise out of these marriages. Marriages of the -clergy were not null and void, they were only voidable by proceedings -which must be taken in the lifetime of the parties. So that it was always -possible that the children of such a marriage might after their father's -death claim as heirs to his estate, and might have the means of proving -their parents' marriage; in which case they would inherit to the exclusion -of those who had thought themselves the heirs. For example, Sir John de -Sudley, knight, and Elizabeth, wife of Sir Baldwyn de Frevyle, knight, -relatives and heirs of Peter, the uncle of the said Sir John, a -sub-deacon, alleged that marriage had been contracted by the said -sub-deacon, to their exclusion from the heirship, and prayed that the -marriage might be pronounced null, lest the children of the said -sub-deacon should claim his heirship. Sir Peter de Montford seems to be -the name of the sub-deacon aforesaid, and Margaret Furnivale that of his -wife.[261] - - * * * * * - -Chaucer, in "The Miller's Tale," seems incidentally to show what was the -popular view of the children of a cleric. The Miller, a Yeoman, a man of -comparative wealth and consideration in his village, had married a -parson's daughter:-- - - A wife he hadde commen of noble kin, - The parson of the town her father was. - -Her "noble kin" points perhaps to the fact that the parson of the town was -of the family of the lord of the manor. She had received the education of -a lady-- - - She was yfostered in a nonnerie. - -As to her personal character-- - - She was proud and pert as is a pie. - -Next the poet puts upon his stage the daughter of this worthy pair-- - - A daughter hadden they betwixt them two; - -and it is what he says about this young lady which proves most clearly -that neither mother nor daughter suffered in the estimation of society -from the condition of their birth: - - The parson of the town, for she was faire, - In purpose was to maken her his heire - Both of his catel and of his messuage, - And strange he made it of her marriage; - His purpose was for to bestow her hie - Into some worthie blood of ancestrie. - -Geoffrey of Childewick, a knight, married Clarissa, the daughter of a -country priest, but she was the sister of the famous John Mansell, the -minister of Henry III. - -A man was called priest's son, not as a nickname, but as a surname -recognized in formal legal documents, as in the "Pleas of the Crown," c. -1220, Hugo Clark appeals _Paganus filius Sacerdotis_ and others of having -beaten him and broken his teeth, etc.[262] - -The subject is rather fully illustrated in the MS. _Omne Bonum_ (Royal 6 -E. VI.) of the fourteenth century in the British Museum. At f. 295, under -the title _Clericorum et mulierum cohabitatio_, is a quaint picture of a -bishop parting a group of clergy from a group of women. At f. 296 _verso_, -under the title _De clericis conjugatio_, is represented a group of clergy -on the left, a group of women on the right, and a cradle containing a baby -between the two groups; the text is on the penalties against clerical -marriages, but it calls the women _uxores_--wives. Again, in the second -volume of the work (Royal 6 E. VII.), at f. 138, under the title _Filii -Presbyterum_, the picture shows three priests on the left, and women on -the right, with three children kneeling between them; the text is on the -disabilities of sons of priests. - - * * * * * - -Another branch of the same subject is the determination of the rulers of -the Church that the sons of clerics should not be allowed to succeed to -their fathers' benefices. The hereditary succession of the semi-secular -Saxon monasteries afforded a venerable precedent for doing so. The -tendency of the feudal system was to make all offices hereditary, and the -practice was growing up of making church benefices hereditary, and -treating them like lay fiefs; _e.g._ dividing them between two or more -sons, as if they were an ordinary estate; demanding a fine from a new -rector as the lord of the manor did from a new tenant; making the -condition that the presentee should give up this or that ancient -possession of the benefice, or should pay an annual pension to the patron. -The end of this would have been that the benefices of the church would -have become hereditary, impaired, and secularized. - -How far the mischief had already gone is illustrated by two or three -examples which we are able to quote.[263] In York, immediately after the -Conquest, there was something very like a succession to the -archbishopric. The provostship of Hexham descended from father to son, all -of them being priests. The Deans of Whalley and Kettelwell, ecclesiastics -of great jurisdiction and influence, were married, and their offices -descended from father to son for generations. In the episcopal registers -we find from time to time sons succeeding their fathers well on in the -thirteenth century, notwithstanding the canons and synods which prohibited -it. - -The great act of defence against this danger which threatened was the -canon which forbade the son of a parson to succeed to his father's -benefice. The canon was re-enacted from time to time, but not without -occasional instances of strenuous resistance. Thus, in 1235, Alexander, -Bishop of Coventry, complained to Pope Gregory IX., that certain rectors, -sons of priests, presumed to occupy their fathers' benefices by force of -arms; and in some cases where fit incumbents had been placed, the priest's -sons had threatened them with injury to members and life, so that they -feared to dwell there; and he asks the pope's protection.[264] The pope -tells him to deprive them of all their benefices.[265] - -Some of the results of the state of things above described appear very -frequently in the bishops' registers. Illegitimacy, we have seen, was one -of the defects which stood in the way of a man's ordination, and the son -of a priest was regarded by the canons as illegitimate; but the bishop -could, if he pleased, give a dispensation which removed the barrier, and -there are many records of such dispensations.[266] Sometimes the -dispensation only admits the grantee to take minor orders, sometimes "to -take all the sacred orders, and to hold ecclesiastical benefices even with -cure of souls." In the Register of Bishop Quivil, of Exeter, 1282, is a -record of a _Dispensatio super defectu natalium_ granted to J. de -Axemuthe, the defect being that he was _de presbytero genitus et soluta_. -So, in the Exeter Register of Bishop Stapledon, J. de Hurbestone, clerk, -in 1308, had a dispensation, being _de presbytero genitus et soluta_. -_Soluta_ means single woman, but in the eye of the canon law and of the -bishop, the wife of a priest would be _soluta_, so that these may be cases -not of immorality, but of married priests. In the Register of Montacute, -Bishop of Ely, is a record of a dispensation (1338) to the son of Ada -Bray, of Canterbury, _qui patre de presbytero genitus_, to be promoted to -all minor orders.[267] In a great number of cases the nature of the -illegitimacy is _soluto genitus et soluta_--born of a single man and -single woman; it is very possible that a number of sons of the clergy may -be included in this formal legal description also. - -Sometimes a man, refused perhaps by his own bishop, went to Rome for a -dispensation, and obtained it.[268] Sometimes the Papal Court gave a -priest's son license to be promoted to any dignity _short of a -bishopric_.[269] - -If a man, being thus disqualified, neglected to obtain a proper -dispensation, he might find the neglect a serious difficulty in -after-life, or if he failed to have at hand the proof of his dispensation; -thus, in 1234, it was objected to Thomas de Melsonby, prior of Durham, -that he was the son of a rector of Melsonby, and born while his father was -in holy orders.[270] Similarly on Feb. 20, 1308-9, Stapledon, bishop of -Exeter, in the chapter-house of Launceston Priory, admonished the prior on -pain of deprivation to exhibit, within two years, to himself or his -successors, his "_Privilegium_" by virtue of which he retained the -dignity, being illegitimate. He appeared within the term and satisfied the -bishop, and was discharged.[271] - -It appears that those who were thrust out on this ground were treated with -some consideration. In 1126, Wm. de Ruley was deprived of the Church of -Ruley, on the ground that he was the son of the last minister; but the -archbishop assigned to him the tithes of a chapelry in the parish for his -support during his life.[272] The mandate for the removal of Peter of -Wivertorp from the Church of Wivertorp, for the same reason, concludes -with the note, _salva pensione_, from which we infer that all incumbents -removed for this cause were entitled to, or at least were usually granted, -a pension. But Peter of Wivertorp did not rest content with his -deprivation. He made friends at the Court of Rome, representing that his -father was married when in minor orders, and that he himself had held the -benefice for ten years; and obtained a letter from Pope Honorius -interceding for him, that he should be allowed to retain Wivertorp till -the archbishop gave him some other competent living.[273] - -The curt, formal entries in these musty records sometimes seem to give us -a glimpse into men's hearts and lives: John Curteys, Vicar of Hobeche, in -his will, made in 1418, leaves all his lands in Holbeach and Quappelode, -to William Curteys for life, on condition that he shall become a priest as -soon as possible after obtaining his legitimation, to celebrate for the -souls of his parents; the remainder for pious uses.[274] We venture to -conjecture that John Curteys, the vicar, in view of his approaching end, -was uneasy in his conscience about the uncanonical marriage of which -William was the offspring; therefore he thus appeals to his son to obtain -as rapidly as may be a dispensation, and ordination to the priesthood; -and then to use continually during his future life his priestly office in -praying for the souls of his erring parents. - -The author of "Piers Plowman's Vision" includes these dispensations to -priests' sons, and sons of serfs, among the abuses of his time, in lines -which are worth quoting-- - - For should no clerk be crowned,[275] But if he come were - Of franklins and freemen, And of folk wedded. - Bondmen[276] and bastards, And beggars' children,[276] - These belong to labour, And lord's children should serve - Both God and good men As their degree askith. - Some to sing masses, Others to sit and write, - Reade and receive, What Reason ought to spend. - And since bondmen's bairns Have been made bishops, - And bastard bairns Have been archdeacons, - And cobblers and their sons For silver have been knights, - And monks and monials, That mendicants should feed,[277] - Have made their kin knights, And knights' fees purchased, - Popes and Patrons Poor gentle blood refuse, - And take Simond's son, Sanctuary to keep. - Life holiness and love Have been long hence, - And will, till it be weared out Or otherwise ychanged. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -VISITATION ARTICLES AND RETURNS. - - -The visitation of the parishes by the Ordinary--the ecclesiastical person -who exercised spiritual jurisdiction over them[278]--was an important -feature of ecclesiastical administration.[279] We have seen that a canon -of the famous Council of Clovesho, in 747, directed bishops to make an -annual visitation of their dioceses. As time went on the duty, burdensome -alike to the bishops and clergy, fell into disuse, and seems to have been -resumed again in the twelfth century. - -The Lateran Council of 1179 made a canon to check the costs of -visitations: it decreed that an archbishop visiting churches should be -content with forty or fifty horses; a bishop with twenty or thirty; an -archdeacon with five or seven; and a dean was not to exceed two.[280] The -Pontificals contain the "Order of Visiting Parishes:"[281] the bishop is -to be met by the clergy in procession outside the gates; Mass is to be -said; the bishop is to tell the people the purpose of his coming, viz. (1) -to absolve the souls of the departed; (2) to see how the Church is -governed, the condition of its vestments, the lives of the clergy, etc.; -(3) to inquire into the sins of the laity; (4) to take cognizance of -matters which belong to the bishop; (5) to confirm children; also he is to -preach a sermon on the sacraments, etc.[282] - -From these visitations we obtain full and reliable information as to the -personal character and conduct of the parish clergy and their fulfilment -of their duties. Five or six of the parishioners, called _testes -synodales_,[283] or questmen, were sworn to give, besides a return of the -condition of the church and its furniture, a true answer to certain -questions about their clergy, viz. the rector or vicar, the chaplains, and -the clerk. - - * * * * * - -Hugh of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln (c. 1232), issued a paper of twenty-nine -questions to his clergy, which is perhaps the earliest of Visitation -Articles ("Lincoln," p. 134, S.P.C.K.). Grostete issued Articles of -Inquiry about 1250; and similar articles were issued by Roger Weseham, -Bishop of Lichfield, in 1252. In the year 1253 these following inquiries -were made "in each and every diocese of the whole kingdom of England" -concerning the life and conversation of both clerks and laymen:--[284] - - 1, 2, 3, 4 are about sensual sins on the part of the laity. 5. Whether - any laymen are drunkards, or habitually frequent taverns, or practise - usury of any kind. 6. Receive the free land of any church to farm. 7. - Or receive in their fee the tithes of any church. 8. Whether rents - assigned to lights or other specified uses of the church are converted - to the use of the rector or vicar. 9. Whether any layman is compelled - to communicate and offer after mass on Easter Day.[285] 10. Whether - any layman or other of whatever condition or reputation (_fam_) - _perierit conscio rectore vel vicario loci_. 11. Whether any layman is - notably proud, or envious, or avaricious, or slothful, or malicious, - or gluttonous, or luxurious [the seven deadly sins]. 12. Whether any - layman causes markets, or plays or pleas (_placita peculiaria_) to be - held in sacred places, and whether these things have been prohibited - on the part of the bishop. 13. Whether any laymen have played at - "Rams" (_elevaverint arietes_[286]), or caused scotales to be held, - or have contended for precedence with their banners in their - visitation of the mother church. 14. Whether any layman or woman - entertain as a guest the concubine of any man of whatever condition, - and keep a bad house. 15. Whether any sick person has lacked any - sacrament from negligence of the priest lawfully called. 16. Whether - any layman or other of whatever condition have died intestate, or - without partaking of the sacraments, by the negligence of the priest - or rector. 17. Whether any churches remain to be dedicated, or any - have been destroyed without licence from the bishop, since the Council - of London. 18. Whether Jews dwell anywhere where they have not been - used to dwell. 19. Whether any laymen have clandestinely contracted - marriage in cases forbidden by law or without banns. 20. Whether the - laity insist upon (_sunt pertinaces ut stent_) standing in the chancel - with the clergy. 21. Whether any layman causes Divine service to be - celebrated in any chapel without licence from the bishop. 22. In what - way lay servants and representatives of parsons, abbots, priors, - prioresses, and other parsons and religious persons, behave in their - granges, mansions, and possessions. 23. Let diligent inquiry be made - concerning the taxation of every church, and how much the rector of - every church has given to the subsidy of the Lord Pope. 24. Whether - any rectors or vicars or priests are very illiterate (_enormiter - illiterati_). 25. Whether the sacrament of the Eucharist is everywhere - carried to the sick with due reverence, and is kept in a proper - manner. 26. Whether any of the aforesaid or others in sacred orders - are incontinent, and in what kind of incontinence. 27. Whether the - incontinent have been corrected by the archdeacon of the place, and - how often and in what manner. 28. Whether any convicted or confessing - incontinence have bound themselves to resignation of their benefices - or other canonical punishment if they relapse, and whether any after - so binding themselves have relapsed. 29. Whether any men beneficed or - in sacred orders are married (_uxorati_). 30. Whether any clerics - frequent the churches of nuns without reasonable cause. 31. Whether - any of the clerks in holy orders keep (_tenent_) any woman related to - him, or any concerning whom evil suspicions may arise. 32. Whether any - are drunken, frequenters of taverns, or traders, or usurers, or - fighters or wrestlers, or notorious for any vice. 33. Whether any are - farmers, giving and receiving churches or vicarages to farm without - the licence of the bishop. 34. Whether any are viscounts (high - sheriffs) or secular judges, or hold bailywicks (stewardships) for - laymen, for which office they are obliged to give account (_unde - obligentur eisdem ad ratiocinia_). 35. Whether any rectors make a - bargain with their annual priests (_cum sacerdotibus annuis_) that, - besides the stipend received from the rector, they may receive - annualia and tricennalia from others. 36. Whether any is guilty of - simony, either in regard to ordination or preferment. 37. Whether any - parish priest has not sufficient maintenance from the rector. 38. - Whether any rector or vicar has built on a lay fee or cemetery out of - the revenues of the Church, or has placed tithes in a lay fee. 39. - Whether any carry weapons, or have not the tonsure, and fitting habit. - 40. Whether any one has more than one cure of souls without - dispensation. 41. Whether any rector or vicar is the son of the last - incumbent. 42. Whether any priest extorts money for penance or other - sacraments, or enjoins lucrative penances. 43. Whether deacons hear - confessions or minister other sacraments committed to priests only. - 44. Whether any rector or vicar does not reside on his benefice. 45. - Whether any church has not clerks or one honest clerk according to the - means of the church. 46. Whether the cemeteries are everywhere - enclosed, and the churches becomingly built and adorned, and the - ornamenta and sacred vessels properly kept. 47. Whether any priest - celebrates in sour wine (_aceto_). 48. Whether any beneficed men learn - or teach secular laws.[287] 49. Whether cartings are done (_fiant - cariagia_) on the Lord's days or festivals, and by whom. 50. Whether - the canon of the mass is everywhere duly corrected. 51. Whether any - layman or cleric keeps as a guest the concubine of a cleric, and where - are there harbours of concubines. 52. Whether any priest celebrates - twice a day except in the conceded cases, and except in his own - church. 53. Whether any religious have appropriated to themselves any - tithes, or churches, or such like, or any additional pension or - portion has been given to religious, without the consent of the bishop - of the place. 54. Whether any vicars make themselves rectors, or the - converse. 55. Whether any illegitimates who have not a dispensation - hold ecclesiastical benefices, or are in sacred orders. 56. Whether - any act as rectors or vicars who have not been instituted by the - bishop. 57. Whether the super altars are proper (_honesta_), and not - used for grinding colours upon them. 58. Whether adulteries and public - and notorious crimes of laymen are duly corrected by the archdeacon, - and whether any one has celebrated marriage in a disallowed case. 59. - Whether in every deanery there have been appointed penitentiaries[288] - of rectors, vicars, and priests, and who they are. 60. What priests - were ordained in Ireland or elsewhere outside this diocese, and whence - did they come, and in what places have they ministered hitherto, and - by whom are they licensed to celebrate. 61. Whether in every - archdeaconry there are sufficient penitentiaries of the bishop (for - cases reserved to the bishop?). 62. Concerning the life and proper - conduct of archdeacons, deans, and clerics who minister in churches, - and concerning the agents and servants of parsons and others. 63. - Whether any anchorite has been made without the assent of the bishop. - 64. Whether any monks or religious dwell in their granges or - possessions, and how the monks behave there in spiritual things, and - what is their reputation. 65. Whether the dean and others have entered - into a confederacy during the vacancy of the see to the prejudice of - the incoming bishop. 66. Whether any archdeacons have received more - for procuration than they ought to receive according to the new - constitution. 67. Enquiry is to be made concerning executors of wills, - whether they have acted well and faithfully in the performance of - their executorship, and if concerning the said executorship they have - paid the computum to the bishop. 68. Whether markets are held by any - one on the Lord's day. - -The answers show that the _testes synodales_ did not scruple to find fault -when they had cause, and perhaps sometimes when they had not much cause. -We gather a few of the returns from the diocese of Exeter at Bishop -Stapledon's Visitation in 1301,[289] as examples-- - -_Sidbury._--Walter the Vicar, _optime se habet in omnibus, bene predicans, -et officium scrum sacerdotale laudabiliter exercens. Similiter et Clerici -honest se gerunt._ - -_Branscombe._--Thomas the Vicar conducts himself well in all things, and -preaches willingly (_libenter_), and diligently does all things which -belong to the office of a priest. - -The returns from many parishes are equally satisfactory. We take more -interest, perhaps, in those in which the failings of the clergy are -pointed out. Here are some of them-- - -_Culmstock._--William the Vicar is a man of good life and honest -conversation, and his clerk likewise, and well instructs his parishioners. -In the visitation of the sick and baptizing the children, and in all -things which belong to his office, they know nothing to be found fault -with in him, with the exception that he makes too little pause between the -matins and mass on festival days.[290] - -_Colyton._--Sir Robert the Vicar is a good man (_probus homo_), and -preaches to them so far as he knows (_quatenus novit_), but not -_sufficienter_, as it seems to them. They say also that his predecessors -were accustomed to call the friars to instruct them about their souls' -salvation, but he does not care for them; and if by chance they come he -does not receive them, nor give them entertainment (_viatica_); whereof -they pray that he may be admonished. Item, all the chaplains and clerks of -the church live _honest et continentes_.[291] - -At a later visitation, in 1330, the synodsmen of Colyton complain that -their vicar had been struck with leprosy, but continued to come to -communion with the parishioners at the risk of contaminating the whole -flock, which was a scandal. They report that they used to have one -sufficient vicar, one fit parochial chaplain, one deacon, and two clerks -serving in the said church of the alms of the parishioners, and that the -vicar used to find that number, out of whom they have now only one -chaplain and one clerk, and that the said vicar refuses to supply more. -They complain that the vicar chooses his parish clerk at his own pleasure, -and will not _manucipere pro eodem_. They say that the clerks of the -church used by custom to ring the curfew, and at the elevation of the -_corpus domini_. - -They complain that John Prouz (lord of the manor of Gatcombe, in the -parish) is not willing to contribute with the other parishioners to the -church, nor to do other things which belong to him. They say that Sir Hugo -Prouz, father of the said John, knight, deceased, left 10 marks sterling -to the fabric of the church of Colyton, which the heirs refuse to -pay.[292] - -_Colebrook._--Hugh de Coppelestone and other trustworthy men of the -parish, lawfully requisitioned and examined, say that Sir William the -Vicar preaches after his own fashion (_suo modo_); also he expounds to -them the Gospels on the Lord's Days so far as he knows (_quatenus novit_); -but concerning the Articles of the Faith, the Commandments of the -Decalogue, and the mortal sins, he does not teach them much. And he does -not say his matins with note on the more solemn days, and only celebrates -on the week days every other day. He is defamed of incontinency with Lucia -de la Stubbe, a married woman (_conjugata_). All his houses, except the -hall and chamber, which were in a good state at his coming, are now -falling to pieces and threatening to come down, and could not be made good -for a hundred shillings. Also his gate is so far from the hall, which he -has lately lengthened, that one calling without is not heard in the hall, -which is dangerous for the sick parishioners.[293] - -_St. Mary Church._--The parishioners have some complaints to make about -business matters between themselves and the vicar, but finally testify -that he preaches well and exercises his office laudably in all things when -he is present; but that he is often absent, and stays at Moreton sometimes -for fifteen days, sometimes for eight, so that they have not a chaplain, -unless when Sir Walter, the chaplain of the archdeacon, is present, or -some one can by chance be obtained from some other place. - -_Dawlash._--In Bishop Stapledon's Visitation, in 1301, the _synodales_ say -that the vicar, who has the reputation of being a good man, does not -reside in person, but has in his place Sir Adam, a chaplain, who conducts -himself _bene et honeste_, and teaches them excellently in spiritual -matters. But Randulphus the chaplain has had his concubine for ten years -or more, and, often corrected for it (_spius inde correptus_), remains -incorrigible. The clerk of the church is _continens et honestus_. - -An important testimony to the estimation in which the clergy were -generally held by their parishioners, is afforded by the fact that it was -very usual for the people to seek their assistance in making their wills, -and also to appoint them as executors, to see to the due carrying out of -their testamentary arrangements. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -PROVISION FOR OLD AGE. - - -We have followed our parish priest through various phases of his life and -work; there remains one more--before that last one through which all -priests and people must pass--on which the records throw a considerable -amount of light. Parish priests grow old--sometimes old and infirm and -incapable of fulfilling the duties of their position. What to do with -them, in fairness to them and in fairness to the parishioners, is a -problem which perplexes us at this moment. Then, as now, if the income of -the benefice, or the private income of the incumbent, enabled him to -obtain the help of a competent chaplain, that was accepted as on the whole -the best solution. It permitted the old pastor to end his days among his -people, and still to be the friend and counsellor of those who cared to -seek him. The difficulty then, as now, is in the case of a benefice which -is too poor both to give a competent maintenance to the old incumbent and -to engage the services of a competent _locum tenens_. We find from not -infrequent records of such cases in the bishops' registers that, to begin -with, the bishop sequestrated the benefice, usually appointing a -neighbouring clergyman as sequestrator. Then, in the arrangement of -matters, it seems to have been thought right always to leave the old -incumbent to end his days among his own people and in his own house, with -a sufficient maintenance out of the income of the benefice. On the other -hand, in justice to the parish, a chaplain was appointed who took -independent charge of the parish. It would seem that this coadjutor -usually lived in the parsonage house, or part of it, not as the guest of -the old incumbent, but rather as his host, except where the premises were -formally divided into two tenements for the independent accommodation of -both. It will be borne in mind that the celibate condition of the clergy -would make the arrangement of such cases much more easy in those times -than in these. - -The unwillingness of an infirm vicar to be disturbed was met in the way -illustrated by this individual case: In 1322 the patron of the parish of -Letton, Herefordshire, complained to the bishop that the rector, Milo by -name, had, from old age and ill health, been absent from his church during -many years without licence of non-residence, though often admonished to -reside. The bishop issued a commission, consisting of neighbouring -incumbents, to inquire. They replied that Milo had not resided for ten -years, that the services had been very badly done by numerous chaplains, -and the parishioners grossly neglected, and that the rectory house and -buildings were falling into decay. A coadjutor was appointed by the bishop -to assist him in the cure of his parish.[294] - -Here are some illustrative cases of a more satisfactory kind. Philip de -Harwodelme, Rector of Bigby--it is recorded in the Register of Bishop -Quivil, of Exeter,[295] in 1286--being so cast down by disease and broken -by old age as to feel himself entirely unequal to the care of the souls of -the parishioners, had a retiring pension assigned to him of twenty marks, -out of the great tithes of the parish. This is a very simple solution of -the difficulty, since the pension, equal to 13, was an ample one, and, it -is to be assumed, the benefice large enough to spare it.[296] - -In 1309, William de Tres ... Vicar of Perran Zabulo, being very old and -infirm, Bishop Stapledon grants a sequestration of the living to Sir Wm. -de Mileborne, Rector of Lanhorne; and an arrangement is made by which -Michael de Newroneck is appointed coadjutor to the old vicar, and is to -pay him two shillings a-week for his sustenance; and out of the rest of -the benefice is to live himself and maintain hospitality, and pay all -charges on the living. - -In 1316, the bishop appointed Thomas de Dylington, Rector of Cumbfflorie, -as coadjutor to the Rector of Lidiard St. Lawrence, who is blind, old, -and broken in health; the appointment is made subject to revocation at -the bishop's pleasure. - -In appointing a coadjutor to Sir Wm., Vicar of St. Colan, on account of -his great infirmity, it is stated in Bishop Stapledon's Register that the -coadjutor is to take charge of the goods, etc., of the vicarage. And so in -the case of Sir Henry, Vicar of Constantine, a coadjutor is appointed by -the same bishop, who is to take an inventory of the vicar's goods, and to -have the vicar and his goods in his care, and to provide honourably for -the vicar and his family. - -In the Registers of Lichfield Diocese, we find the incumbents of -Stoke-on-Terne, Uttoxeter, St. Peter's, Derby, etc., resigning on a -pension secured by the oath of their successors; and chaplains assigned to -the Vicar of Lapley, who is old and blind, and the Rector of Maxstoke, -because he is infirm; and so in other dioceses. - -The arrangement between the vicar and his successor does not always work -quite smoothly. This seems to be the explanation of the action of Bishop -Stapledon, of Exeter, who, in 1326, admonishes Barthol de More, Vicar of -Kynstock by the resignation of John Mon, who is decrepit, to continual -residence, and to take oath to maintain the said John as long as he lives. -But soon after a more definite arrangement is made that "lest, in process -of time, to the scandal of the clergy, the said John should be compelled -miserably to beg, he shall receive a payment of six marks of silver, viz. -40_s._ at St. Michael, and 40_s._ at Easter." - -Cases difficult to deal with sometimes occurred. Considering the -prevalence of leprosy from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, it is -not wonderful to find the vicar of a parish among the victims of the -dreadful disease. We have met with one case in the preceding chapter of a -Vicar of Colyton, in Exeter diocese, in 1330. We are not told what steps -the bishop took in that case; but in a similar case at St. Neot's, in the -same diocese, the vicar being struck with leprosy, Bishop Stapledon -appointed Ralph de Roydene, chaplain, to be his coadjutor, and gave the -vicar and the living into the custody of the coadjutor. The bishop orders -that since the vicar cannot, without danger, have intercourse with the -whole people as he has been accustomed, the vicar shall have the better -chamber (_meliorem cameram_) with the houses adjoining it, except the -hall, to live, and eat, and drink in; and that the entrance should be -closed between the said chamber and the hall, and a new entrance made to -the said chamber externally in a suitable place, by which the vicar, when -need is, can have ingress and egress; and a _cloaca_, likewise, to the -said chamber, in a fitting place. The said Sir Ralph shall pay to the said -vicar every week for his maintenance in food, drink, and firing, and other -small necessaries, 2_s._ sterling, and yearly on the feast of St. Michael, -or thereabout, 20_s._ for his robe; also he shall keep in repair the -houses of the said vicarage, both those which the vicar inhabits, and all -the other buildings of the vicarage, and shall undertake and see after all -other burdens belonging to the said vicarage.[297] - -There is a case in the Chichester Register in which the master and -brethren of the college of the Holy Trinity, Arundel, petition the bishop -to give a pension to Wm. Rateford, resigning the Vicarage of Kurdford, -lest he come to beggary, to the scandal of the clergy. - -In another Chichester case, Thomas Bolle, Rector of Aldrington, Sussex, -having resigned his living in 1402, applied to the bishop, Robert Rede, -for leave to build a cell against the wall of the church, in which he -might be shut up--as a recluse--for the rest of his life. The license was -granted, and the Reclusorium remains to this day in the shape of a room 29 -ft. by 25 ft., with ingress to the chapel of the Blessed Virgin on the -north side of the church.[298] - -In 1422, Spofford, Bishop of Hereford, instituted a vicar to the parish of -Dilwyn, in the place of Walter Robins, to whom, as having discharged his -duties in a laudable manner, a pension of 40_s._ is assigned, to prevent -his falling into beggary, and so becoming a scandal to the Church. His -pension is to begin fifteen days after his resignation, and to be paid -quarterly. He is to have a chamber in the vicarage house on the ground -floor (_bassam cameram_), with a fireplace in it, and near the entrance -door (_hostium actuale_), with free ingress and egress, and power of -redress in case of failure in punctuality of payment.[299] - -In the adjoining parish of Webley, a vicar retiring in 1440 is to receive -eight marks, a room on the ground floor, the use of the vicarage kitchen, -well, and garden; and the incoming incumbent is to assure these benefits -by oath. - -Beneficed clergymen had a freehold in their benefices, and therefore a -legal claim for provision in old age, not so with unbeneficed men; but we -meet with a few examples of kindly care for them. For example: In 1237 the -Bishop of Durham obtained the papal licence to place certain clerks of his -diocese who have become old, weak, and blind in a house together, and -assign the tithe of his wills for their support;[300] Thomas Ricard, in -1433, leaves, "to John Wright, chaplain, because he is blind and poor, a -mark per annum for life."[301] - -William Malham, of Elslack, absentee rector--being a master in -Chancery--of the parish of Marton, Yorks, in the beginning of the reign of -Henry VIII., writes to his brother: "I will Sir W. Martindale be Parish -Priest at Marton, and to have like wages as Sir W. Hodgson had, and Sir W. -Hodgson to have six marks yearly, during his life, to tarry at Marton, and -praye for me and my mother's and father's sawles. They both to begin their -service at midsomer next coming." This seems to be a kindly way of -pensioning off an old parish chaplain.[302] - - * * * * * - -If the reader wishes to follow our parish priest to the grave, and join -in his obsequies, he may turn to pp. 452 and 457, where he will find -sufficient suggestions to enable him to reproduce the funeral and the -funeral service, and the month's-mind and obit. The wills of priests -sometimes give directions for their monuments; for example, in 1384, -Michael Northburgh, Canon of Chichester, and Rector of Hampstap, willed to -be buried in Chichester Cathedral, in a spot which he minutely describes: -"A marble stone to be placed over my grave with a half statue like that of -Mgr. William Blythe, with this inscription: Hic jacet Michael -Northborough, quondam Canonicus Ecclie Cicestren. et Rector Ecclie de -Hampstap, cuius Aie P'picietur Deus. Amen. And the statue to hold a scroll -in its hands with the words, Miseremini mei, Miseremini mei, saltem bos -Amici, quia Manus Domini tetigit me."[303] - -William of Duffield, Chaplain of St. Martin's, in Coney Street, York (A.D. -1361), left 20_s._ to buy a gravestone for himself, and 3_s._ 4_d._ for -workmanship and sculpturing a chalice thereon.[304] - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE PARISH CLERK. - - -The parish clerk seems to have existed about as long as the parish priest, -if we are right in assuming that the man of sober life whom the parish -priest was required by the "canons of King Edgar" to bring with him to the -diocesan synods (see p. 67) was the prototype of that useful official. At -least, from a very early time every parish had its clerk to attend upon -the priest in his office, and to perform a number of useful services on -behalf of the parishioners. An Injunction of Bishop Grostete says, "In -every church which hath sufficient means there shall be a deacon and -sub-deacon, but in the rest at least a fitting and honest clerk to serve -the priest in a comely habit."[305] A Canon of a Synod of Ely (1528) -enjoins all parish clerks to serve their priests at high mass reverently -and devoutly. - -[Illustration: Coronation procession of Charles V. of France. (From MS. of -Froissart's Chronicle.)] - -The general custom was for the incumbent to choose and appoint the clerk, -and for the parishioners to pay him; but in some parishes the parishioners -had a prescriptive right to choose; and there are indications that in some -parishes it was the custom for the rector or vicar to pay him.[306] Having -been duly chosen and appointed, the clerk was licensed by the Ordinary, -and held his office as a freehold, being removable by the Ordinary, and by -him only for misconduct. His duties were to attend on the parish priest, -and assist in the services of the church; to ring the bell for services, -prepare the altar, lead the people in the responses; precede the -procession with holy water; precede the priest with bell and taper in -going to visit the sick, and such-like things. - -[Illustration: Parish Clerk sprinkling Holy Water. (Early 14th cent. MS. -British Museum, Royal, 10 E. IV.)] - -One curious custom of his office was to go round the parish on Sundays and -great festivals, and to enter the houses in order to asperse the people -with holy water, sometimes, perhaps on some special festivals, it would be -to cense them, for Absolon, the parish clerk in Chaucer's "Canterbury -Tales" (Miller's Tale)-- - - Goth with a censer on the holy day, - Censing the wives of the parish faste. - -A MS. in the British Museum of early fourteenth century date (Royal, 10 E. -IV.) contains a story which turns on the adventures of a parish priest, as -he goes through the parish on this errand. Our illustration, taken from -f. 108 _verso_, shows how, after going into the kitchen to sprinkle the -cook, he then goes to the hall to sprinkle the lord and lady as they sit -at dinner. In the Harl. MS., 2278, f. 76, is a picture of a parish clerk -about to asperse the dead body of a child, the mother withdrawing the -winding-sheet for the purpose.[307] It was from this duty that the parish -clerk took the name of "Aquabajalus." - -His stipend was made up of customary fees, especially for his services at -marriages and burials, which differed in various parishes, and voluntary -donations. A custom of this kind is good (says Lyndwode), that every -master of a family on every Lord's day give the clerk bearing the holy -water, somewhat according to the exigency of his condition; and that on -Christmas Day he have of every house one loaf of bread, and a certain -number of eggs at Easter, and in the autumn certain sheaves. Also that may -be called a laudable custom where such clerk every quarter of the year -receives something in certain money for his sustenance, which ought to be -collected and levied in the whole parish. - -A great number of the medival wills contain small bequests to the parish -clerk, and to clerks attending the funeral of the testator. - -A story told by Matthew Paris[308] makes us acquainted with the average -income thus derived. "It happened that an agent of the pope met a jolly -clerk of a village carrying water in a little vessel with a sprinkler, and -some bits of bread given him for having sprinkled some holy water, and to -him the deceitful Roman thus addressed himself: 'How much does the profit -yielded to you by this church amount to in a year?' To which the clerk, -ignorant of the Roman's cunning, replied, 'To twenty shillings, I think.' -Whereupon the agent demanded the percentage the pope had just demanded on -all ecclesiastical benefices. And to pay that small sum the poor man was -compelled to hold school for many days, and, by selling his books in the -precincts, to drag on a half-starved life." - -Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury, in his Constitutions of 1260, says-- - - We have often heard from our elders that the benefices of holy water - were originally instituted from a motive of charity, in order that one - of their proper poor clerks might have exhibitions to the schools, and - so advance in learning, that they might be fit for higher preferment. - -He therefore desires that in churches which are not distant more than ten -miles from the cities and castles of the province of Canterbury, the -rectors and vicars should endeavour to find such clerks, and appoint them -to the office. And if the parishioners withhold the customary alms to -them, let them be urgently admonished, and, if need be, compelled to give -them. - -We are not surprised to find that parish clerks of this kind often kept -the village schools. - - Peckham, Archbishop in 1280, ordered in the church of Bauquell and the - chapels annexed to it, that there should be _duos clericos - scholasticos_, carefully chosen by the parishioners, from whose alms - they would have to live, who should carry holy water round in the - parish and chapels on Lord's days and festivals, and minister _in - divinis officiis_, and on week days should keep school.[309] - Alexander, Bishop of Coventry, 1237, ordered parish clerks who should - be schoolmasters in country villages.[310] - -The custom of putting young scholars into the office of parish clerk to -help them to proceed to holy orders, explains some kindly bequests which -we meet with in wills: - - Robert de Weston, Rector of Marum, 1389, leaves "to John Penne, my - clerk, a missal of the new Use of Sarum, if he wishes to be a priest, - otherwise I give him 20_s._ My servant Thomas Thornawe, 20_s._ The - residue of my goods to be solde as quickly as possible, _communi - pretio_, so that the purchasers may be bound to pray for my - soul."[311] - - Giles de Gadlesmere, in 1337, left to Wm. Ockam, clerk, C_s._, unless - he be promoted before my death.[312] - -The parish clerks of a town or neighbourhood sometimes formed themselves -into a gild, as in London, Lincoln, etc.,[313] and it would seem that -these gilds in some places entertained their neighbours, and no doubt -augmented their own funds, by the exhibition of miracle plays. The parish -clerks of London used to exhibit, on the anniversary of their gild, on the -green in the parish of St. James, Clerkenwell. In 1391, Stow says that -they performed before the king and queen and the whole court for three -days successively, and that, in 1409, they performed a play of the -"Creation of the World," the representation of which occupied eight -successive days. - -Chaucer gives a portrait of a parish clerk in the Miller's Tale of his -"Canterbury Pilgrims"-- - - Now was there of that churche a parish clerke - The which that was y-cleped Absolon. - Crulle[314] was his here and as the gold it shon, - And strouted[315] as a fanne large and brode; - Ful streight and even lay his jolly shode.[316] - His rode[317] was red, his eyen grey as goos, - With Poules windowes carved on his shoos, - In hosen red he went ful fetisly[318] - Yclad he was ful smal and proprely - All in a kirtle of a light wajet[319] - Ful faire and thicke ben the points set. - And therupon he had a gay surplise - As white as is the blossome upon the rise.[320] - A mery child he was so God me save, - Well could he leten blod and clippe and shave - And make a charte of lond and a quitance. - In twenty manner could he trip and daunce - (After the schole of Oxenford tho) - And playen songs on a smal ribible[321] - Therto he sang, sometime a loud quinible[321] - And as wel could he play on a giterne.[321] - In all the town n'as brewhouse ne taverne - That he ne visited with his solas, - Theras that any galliard tapstere was. - This Absolon that jolly was and gay - Goth with a censor on the holy day - Censing the wivs of the parish faste - And many a lovely loke he on hem caste. - - * * * * * - - Sometime to shew his lightness and maistrie - He plaieth Herod on a skaffold hie. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -CUSTOMS. - - -It remains to mention a great variety of observances and customs, some of -them superstitious, some innocent enough, many of them picturesque and -poetical and giving colour and variety to the popular religious life. It -would need another volume as large as this to do justice to the subject -which we find ourselves compelled to deal with in a single chapter. - -The right of Sanctuary, the immunity from violence even of the criminal -who had put himself under the protection of present Deity, which was -provided for in the Levitical cities of refuge, which attached to the -temples of the gods of Greece and Rome, was, when the empire became -Christian, readily accorded to churches and their precincts. We have had -occasion to mention its existence in Saxon times;[322] it seems desirable -to say that it continued to be an important feature in the life of the -times of which we are now speaking. There were special -sanctuaries--cities of refuge--with special privileges, as at Durham, -Ripon, Hexham, Beverley, Battle, Beaulieu, Westminster, St. Martin's le -Grand, the Savoy, Whitefriars, and the Mint in London, and other places. -Every church and every churchyard shared in the privilege, and it was no -very unusual incident to find it made use of. - -As an illustration of its efficacy, we may point to the story that after -the battle of Tewkesbury, King Edward IV., with some of his knights, was -about to enter the church, sword in hand, in pursuit of some of the -defeated Lancastrians who had taken refuge there, when the priest met them -at the door bearing the consecrated host, and refused them entrance till -the king had promised pardon to several of the refugees. We frequently -meet with examples of people in danger to life or liberty taking refuge in -the nearest church. - -The church was also a sanctuary for property. It was very usual to deposit -money and valuables there for safe custody. We give some examples of it in -a footnote.[323] Jews were not allowed to deposit their money and -valuables in churches. - -The churchyard also gave a certain protection.[324] Ordericus Vitalis -relates that the villagers in time of war sometimes removed themselves and -their goods thither, and built themselves huts within the precincts, and -were left unmolested. From a canon of the Synod of Westminster, 1142, we -learn that ploughs and other agricultural implements placed in the -churchyard had certain immunities, probably freedom from seizure for debt. -The canon decreed that the ploughs in the fields, with the husbandmen, -should have the same immunity.[325] - -A similar privilege attached to the persons of bishops; Bishop St. Hugh of -Lincoln meeting the sheriff and his men taking a man to execution, claimed -the criminal, and carried him off. The Abbot of Battle on one occasion -claimed and exercised the same episcopal privilege. - - * * * * * - -Pilgrimage was a popular act of devotion from Saxon times downwards, and -afforded a relief to the stay-at-home habits of the people. The pilgrimage -to the Holy Land was the most highly esteemed, after that, to the -thresholds of the apostles at Rome, and to Compostella, and great numbers -went thither. The most famous native pilgrimages were to St. Thomas of -Canterbury and Our Lady of Walsingham, but every cathedral had its shrine, -and many monasteries and many churches their relics. It would occupy pages -even to give a list of the known places of pilgrimage in every county. Let -it suffice to mention the shrines of St. Cuthbert at Durham, St. William -at York, and little St. William at Norwich, St. Hugh at Lincoln, St. -Edward Confessor at Westminster, St. Erkenwald at London, St. Wulstan at -Worcester, St. Swithun at Winchester, St. Edmund at Bury, SS. Etheldreda -and Withburga at Ely, St. Thomas at Hereford, St. Frideswide at Oxford, -St. Werburgh at Chester, St. Wulfstan at Worcester, St. Wilfrid at Ripon, -St. Richard at Chichester, St. Osmund at Salisbury, St. Paulinus at -Rochester. There were famous roods, as that near the north door of St. -Paul's, London, and the roods of Chester and Bromholme; and statues, as -that of Our Lady of Wilsden, and of Bexley, and of other places. There -were scores of sacred wells; that of St. Winifred at Holywell, near -Chester, with its exquisite architectural enclosure and canopy, is still -almost perfect, and still resorted to for its supposed healing virtues. - -Before a man went on any of the greater pilgrimages, he obtained a licence -from his parish priest, and first went to church and received the Church's -blessing on his pious enterprise, and her prayers for his good success and -safe return, and was formally invested with his staff, scrip, and bottle -(water-bottle). The office for blessing pilgrims may be found in the old -service books. While he was away he was mentioned every Sunday, as we have -seen, in the Bidding Prayer, in his parish church. On the road, and at the -end of his journey, he found hospitals founded by pious people on purpose -to entertain pilgrims, and on the exhibition of his formal licence he -received kindly hospitality. At every great place of pilgrimage "signs" -were sold to the pilgrims, the palm at Jerusalem, scallop shells at St. -James of Compostella, and the like. In many places water, in which had -been dipped one of the relics, was sold, to be used in case of sickness, -enclosed in a leaden ampul, and was worn suspended by a cord from the -neck. Fragments of the pilgrim roads may still be traced in narrow deep -overgrown lanes on the hillsides between Guildford and Reigate, between -Westerham and Seven Oaks, leading towards Canterbury, and in green lanes -through Norfolk leading towards Walsingham. On his return the pilgrim went -to church to return thanks, and hung up his signs over his bed as -treasured mementoes of his adventurous journey. Sometimes the palmer's -staff, or the scallop shells, were, on his death, hung on the church wall, -as the knight's gauntlets, sword, and helmet were.[326] - -The whole body of the people had an opportunity of a short pilgrimage on -the occasion of the annual procession of the parishes to the cathedral -church, or if that were too far, to some other central church with -special attractions, with banners waving and most likely music playing, -there to meet the processions from other parishes, as has been already -described at p. 121. - - * * * * * - -Very frequently at the great Festivals there was some picturesque addition -to the services in church; as the grotto and cradle at Christmas, the -sprinkling of ashes on Ash Wednesday, the veiling of the rood during Lent, -the procession bearing palms round the churchyard on Palm Sunday, the -creeping to the cross on Good Friday, the Easter sepulchre, on Whitsunday -the white dresses of the baptizands, the blessing of the fields on -Rogation days, the festival of the Dedication of the parish church which -was held on its saint's day, and was a great day of social feasting. Every -Sunday the procession (Litany) round the church, sometimes preceded by a -miserable figure in white, bearing a taper, doing penance. At funerals -there was a great display of mournful pageantry; and month's-minds, and -obits, frequently occurring, added a feature to the service in which -everybody took a personal interest; for the good people then, when the -banns of a marriage were published, kindly responded with a "God speed -them well"; and when the names of the departed were proclaimed, prayed -"God rest their souls." - - * * * * * - -In the Middle Ages, all the services of the church, attended by the -people, were celebrated by daylight, except, perhaps, the first evensong -on the eves of saint days, and very early celebrations, and then the -attendants probably brought a taper or a coil of wax-light for themselves, -so that there was no need of provision for the lighting up of the whole -interior of churches, such as is customary in these days; but lights in -churches were a conspicuous part of their furniture, and the provision of -them was a source of general interest to the people. - -First there were the altar lights. A law of Edmund directs that the priest -shall not celebrate without a light; not for use, but as a symbol. At low -mass one candle on the gospel side of the altar was sufficient, _e.g._ one -was habitually used in Lincoln Cathedral at low mass. In poor churches, -sometimes only one was used. Myrc, in his "Instructions to Parish -Priests," says-- - - Look that thy candle of wax it be, - And set it so that thou it see, - On the left half of thine altere, - And look always that it burn clere. - -In pictures of the celebration of the Eucharist in illuminated MSS., we -sometimes find only one candle on the altar, _e.g._ in Nero E. II. -(fourteenth cent.) _passim_. More usually in later times two wax candles -were placed on the altar, which were understood to symbolize the presence -in the sacrament of Christ the Light of the World, and their number to -allude to the two natures in our Lord. - -It was required that an oil-lamp should hang before the high altar, always -alight, in honour of the reserved sacrament in its Pyx. It was an ancient -custom to have a great ornamented wax-light at Easter, called the Paschal -Candle, in honour of the Resurrection of our Lord. Lights were placed on -the rood-loft, and tapers were burned in front of the images of the -saints, here and there in the church and its chapels. "The lighting of -candles is not to dispel darkness, but to show that the saints are -lightened by the light of heaven from God, as when they were alive, and -the light of Faith, Grace, and Doctrine shone in them in this life." "The -Church Light before the rood, the relics, or images of saints burneth to -the honour of God."[327] - -The number of these lights before saints was sometimes considerable. For -example, the churchwardens' accounts of All Saints', Derby, for 1466-67, -give entries with respect to the lights in that church, which tell us the -number of images of saints, the number of tapers before each image, and -the way in which they were provided:-- - - St. Catherine's lights contained 20 serges, maintained by the - collection of the Candle lighter. - - St. Nicholas' light contained 12 serges, maintained by the gathering - of the Parish Clerk on St. Nicholas' night. - - Four other serges were burnt before St. Nicholas, which were provided - by the Schoolmaster's gathering from his scholars, St. Nicholas being - the patron saint of School boys. - - St. Eloy's (Elgius) light had 6 serges, maintained by the Gild of the - Farriers. - - St. Clement's light had 5 serges, maintained by the Gild of Bakers. - - Our Lady's light contained 5 serges, maintained by the Shoemakers. - - Before the Rood 5 serges were maintained by 5 several benefactors. - - Before the Mary of Pity 5 serges were maintained by the wife of Ralph - Mayre. - - In the Lady Chapel before our Lady 3 serges, maintained by 3 several - benefactors. - - In the same chapel before the Image of St. John Baptist several serges - maintained by one benefactor. - - Before St. Christopher 5 serges by 5 individuals. - - 3 serges which Anc{r} Geyr found, one before our Lady, another before - St. Catherine, and the third before the Trinity Altar. - - Before St. Edmund 2 serges by the gathering of the Clerk on St. - Edmund's night, gathering as they do on St. Nicholas' night.[328] - -Dr. Cox says that these lights were probably all lighted at high mass; but -those of saints only on their saint days, and that only the altar-lamp was -left alight all night. - -At the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a temporary -wooden chandelier, called a trindle, bearing many lights, was set up in -church, and the attendants at the service brought tapers with them; the -general illumination gave to the festival the name of Candle-Mass. - -The popularity of these lights is shown in many ways--gilds maintained -them, the public generally subscribed to them, and testators frequently -left money to them. - -A taper seems sometimes to have been symbolical of a person, as when the -people who followed a procession carried them and presented them at the -altar; when a nun to be professed and an anchoress to be enclosed, thus -carried and offered them; when a penitent carried them; and, when in -excommunication, "by bell, book, and candle," the candle was extinguished. -Perhaps, in giving to the lights before the rood and the images of saints, -there was some notion in the donors' minds that they were keeping -themselves in the recollection of Christ and the saints. - -Besides these ritual lights, it was customary at a funeral to set up a -wooden herse in church around the coffin, and to place two or more large -wax candles, often called torches, about the herse. People often made -provision in their wills for such lights, not only on the day of the -funeral, but on the week-day, month's-mind, and yearly obit, and sometimes -at a perpetual obit. Perhaps what was intended to be symbolized was that, -though their bodies were buried in darkness, their souls were in the land -of light. - - * * * * * - -The dramatic representation of Scripture subjects--the Three Kings at -Christmas, the Passion of our Lord in Lent, and others at other times--was -common in the cathedrals, monasteries, large towns, and perhaps villages. -Bishop Poor, in his "Ancren Riewle," suggests that female recluses, who -sometimes lived in a cell beside the church, may have to mention among -other subjects of confession, "I went to the play in the churchyard; I -looked on at the wrestling, or other foolish sports." The Passion play at -Ober Ammergau has proved that such performances may be made dignified and -devotional. - - * * * * * - -The custom of using the churchyard for purposes of business and pleasure -was very common and very persistent. As early as the fourth century St. -Basil protested against the holding of markets in the precincts of -churches, under pretext of making better provision for the festivals; but -the custom held its own, and we have a catena of synodical declarations -against holding secular pleas, markets and fairs, and indulging in sports, -in church and churchyard, and a series of complaints by the synodsmen in -their annual presentation to their bishops of the breach of the canons. - -Cardinal Ottobon, at the Synod of London, 1268, made a constitution -prohibiting this kind of use of the sacred building and its enclosure; and -strictly enjoining all bishops and other prelates to cause it to be -inviolably observed on pain of ecclesiastical censure; and here are a few -examples of the way in which it was disregarded down to so late a period -as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: - -The parishioners of St. Michael le Belfry, York, in 1416, complain that a -common market is held in their churchyard on Sundays and holidays.[329] In -the explanation of the Second Commandment, c. xvi., in "Dives and -Pauper," in allusion to the abuse, which adds a little to our information, -"no markette sholde be holden by vytaylers or other chapmen on Sondaye in -the churche or in the churchyarde or at the church gate ne in sentuary -(churchyard) ne out." In another place (Sixth Commandment, c. i.) we learn -that the chapmen and their families sometimes slept in the church or -churchyard. - -One of the canons of the Synod of Exeter, 1287, strictly enjoins on parish -priests that they publicly proclaim in their churches that no one presume -to carry on combats, dances, or other improper sports in the churchyards, -especially on the even and feasts of saints, or stage plays or farces -(_ludos theatrales et ludebriorum spectacula_).[330] Yet in 1472, at -Sallay, in Yorkshire, it is found necessary to make an order that no one -use improper and prohibited sports within the churchyard, as, for example, -_pilopedali vel manuale_, tutts and handball, or wrestling. - - * * * * * - -A custom which is still more opposed to our sense of propriety was that of -holding church ales in the sacred building. A church ale was the old form -of parish tea. It was connected with works of piety or charity, or of -Christian fellowship, and in the eyes of the people of those times perhaps -partook of the nature of the primitive love-feasts. They made a collection -for the poor of the parish at a Whitsun Ale, started a young couple with a -little sum by a Bride Ale, or got a man out of difficulties by a Bid Ale -(from _biddan_, to pray or beg). So persistent was the custom, that in our -latest English canons of 1603 it is thought necessary to prohibit any -holding of feasts, banquets, suppers, or church ale drinkings in -church.[331] - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -ABUSES. - - -Even a book like this, which professes to deal with the humbler details of -parochial life, rather than with the greater matters of ecclesiastical -history, would be defective if it failed to take some note of the -administrative abuses against which all Europe complained for centuries, -and tried in vain to get them amended in the three great Councils at Pisa, -Constance, and Basle. We shall treat of them very briefly, and chiefly in -their relation to our special subject. - -It was soon found that the new relations of the Church of England to the -patriarchal authority of the See of Rome, which had been a consequence of -the Norman Conquest, had opened the door to a flood of evils which had not -been foreseen. We can only enumerate them without going into their -history. - - * * * * * - -The claim of the popes to present to all ecclesiastical benefices was -opposed by the king with respect to the rights of the Crown to the -nomination to bishoprics and abbacies, and on the part of the nobles and -gentry with respect to their patronage; but by partial encroachments the -popes did in fact, from time to time, nominate to many bishoprics, and -dignities, and to a considerable number of parochial benefices. Curiously -enough, the most important of these invasions of the rights of others are -the most capable of extenuation. The kings, as we shall presently have -occasion to say, at length used their power of practical nomination to -bishoprics, not to give the Church the best Churchmen as bishops, but to -pay for the services of their ministers of State with the rank and -revenues of bishoprics. Their nomination at all was an infringement of the -constitutional liberties of the Church, and their use of their power of -practical nomination in this way was a grievous wrong. In the reigns of -John and Henry III., when the popes took upon themselves to nominate to -sees, they were careful to select Churchmen of learning and character, who -contrasted favourably in the eyes of the nation with the king's nominees -thus superseded. In the reign of Edward I., the king and the pope played -into one another's hands, the king did not oppose the Papal nomination, -but the pope readily nominated men whom the king recommended. Later kings -successfully maintained their right of nomination against the popes, but -the pious and feeble Henry VI. again yielded to papal encroachments. - -The _intrusion_ by the pope _of foreigners_, chiefly Italians, into -English benefices was a great practical grievance while it lasted, _i.e._ -during part of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Bishop Grostete -estimated that the revenues of the alien clerks, whom Innocent IV. had -planted in England, equalled seventy thousand marks, while the king's -revenue was not more than a third of that sum. This abuse was so unpopular -that it provoked a serious resistance. About 1230, a secret association, -countenanced, it was said, by men of position, wrote to bishops and -chapters, warning them not to encourage these encroachments, and to the -monks, who farmed the benefices of the aliens, not to pay them their rent. -The tithe barns of the alien rectors were plundered, and the contents sold -or given to the poor, and some of the men themselves were seized and put -to ransom. In the reign of Richard II. (1379), an Act of Parliament -forbade any to farm the benefice of an alien, or to send money out of the -realm for such farm, under the penalties of the Statute of Provisors. But -the evil was checked by the Acts of Provisors (1350) and Premunire (1353), -and these encroachments of the Roman See were extinguished by the end of -the fourteenth century. - - * * * * * - -A great grievance inflicted by the Crown upon the Church was _the use of -Church patronage_ for the payment of the political, diplomatic, judicial, -and other officers of the civil administration. The result was that a -large number of the greatest offices of the Church were served by deputy; -the details of diocesan work were done by suffragans, archdeacons -performed their duties by officials, rectors by parish chaplains. It was -inevitable that the work should be imperfectly done; rank and wealth are -attached to Church benefices in order to enhance the dignity and influence -of the holders and their power of fulfilling the duties of their office, -and a _locum tenens_, though he were intrinsically as able a man, can -never fulfil the place or do the work of the real holder of the office. - -It was Henry II. who adopted it as a normal practice, and not without -protest. When this king asked Bishop St. Hugh of Lincoln for a prebend for -one of his courtiers, the bishop replied: "Ecclesiastical benefices are -not for courtiers, but for ecclesiastics. Those who hold them must serve -not the palace or the treasury, but the altar. The king has wherewithal to -compensate those who work for him and fight his battles. Let him allow -those who serve the King of kings to enjoy their fitting remuneration, and -not to be deprived of it." When King Richard, through the Archbishop of -Canterbury, desired Bishop Hugh to send him a list of twelve of his canons -to be employed in his affairs, Hugh replied that "he had often prohibited -his clerks from intermeddling in secular affairs, and he certainly was not -going to encourage such a thing now. It was quite enough to have -archbishops forgetting their sacred calling." All the canons had not the -courage of their bishop, or were ambitious of court appointments, for some -of them went off to the king at Fontevrault without the bishop's leave; -but all were relieved from their difficulty by the king's death.[332] - - * * * * * - -A kindred evil was that of _pluralities_, since the holder of several -benefices must needs put a _locum tenens_ into all of them save one, with -the disadvantages just mentioned. John Mansel, Henry III.'s chancellor, is -said by Matthew Paris to have held the revenues of seven hundred -benefices, amounting to four thousand marks. - -The popes in the thirteenth century exerted their authority to put an end -to the abuse, but met with a strenuous resistance. At the Council of -London, 1237, under Otho, when the Canon against pluralists of the recent -Lateran Council was proposed to be adopted, Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of -Worcester, warned the Legate that the attempt to impose it on the English -clergy would be resisted by force by the young men who were bold and -daring, and not without the approbation of some of their elders;[333] and -the question was postponed. But the popes exercised pressure by refusing -to confirm the elections to bishoprics of men who were pluralists, and the -Archbishops[334] gave their authority to the cause of reform. In time the -evil was lessened; there were fewer benefices held in plurality, and those -who held them were required to obtain a dispensation, and to provide in -the benefices on which they did not reside proper substitutes with a -sufficient provision for themselves, and for the hospitalities and -charities of the benefices. - -We have had occasion to make several allusions to the _farming of -benefices_; this was another abuse which may require a few words of -explanation. The incumbent for a definite annual payment put the -emoluments of his benefice into the hands of another to make what he could -out of it. The monks at one time were great farmers of benefices. The evil -of it was that the farmer, having no responsibility towards or interest in -the people, was tempted to be strict in exacting his dues, and deaf to -claims of charity. For example, in 1532 the Convent of Merton granted a -lease of the rectory of Kingston-on-Thames with all the profits and the -presentation to the vicarage for twenty-one years.[335] - -A danger connected with this farming of benefices for a long term of -years, which is not apparent at first sight, is indicated in the following -instance. In 1267, Bishop Richard of Gravesend made Dunstable Priory give -up the Church of Lidlington; they had farmed it from an absentee rector, -and on his death they seem to have assumed the rectorial rights.[336] - - * * * * * - -Among the greatest and most widespread abuses, was that of admitting to -benefices men who were not qualified to fulfil the duties of the office. -This was the case more or less with ecclesiastical benefices from -bishoprics downwards; but it was specially the case with rectories. - -This abuse, of course, arose from the fact that in the majority of cases -the patronage of the rectory was in the hands of the lord of the manor, -the descendant, or at least the representative, of the original donor of -the benefice, and was usually regarded as a natural provision for one of -the younger sons of the family. It was, perhaps, not in theory so bad an -arrangement as some people think it. In those feudal times the lord of the -manor was the petty king of all the people, and if one of his sons had the -personal qualifications, perhaps no other priest could fulfil the duties -of rector of the parish with equal advantages. The relations of squire and -parson in a country village are a little difficult, and a son of the -ruling family could exercise an influence in the parish which a stranger -could not; he could mediate between the lord and the people with greater -influence on both sides than a stranger; and the people would generally -pay a loyal regard to him which they would not to any other priest. - -The great abuse was that so many of these rectors remained in minor -orders, exercising perhaps a good influence, fulfilling the hospitalities -and charities of their office, but leaving its spiritual duties to be -performed by a parish chaplain. This did not seem so objectionable to them -as it does to us, because they were under the influence of the feudal -ideas, which tended to make all offices hereditary, and to consider that -the holders of office did all that was required of them if they provided -that the duties of the office were satisfactorily performed by -subordinates. - -The law made a man who had received the lowest of the minor orders capable -of holding a benefice;[337] the bishops, therefore, could not refuse the -patron's nomination in such cases, and the bishops' registers contain -records of the institution of young men, who were sometimes only acolytes, -or even clerks; they had to do the best they could for the well-being of -both the young rectors and their parishes, with some consideration for the -rights of patrons and the opinion of the age. In very many cases the newly -instituted rector received at once a licence of non-residence for a year, -that he might study, generally, or in Oxford or Paris specifically. The -leave of non-residence is sometimes extended to two or three years, or -renewed from time to time. Sometimes it is stipulated that the rector -shall take orders as sub-deacon within the year, or that he shall pass -through all the orders up to priest's within the time of non-residence -allowed. There is frequently further licence given to put the benefice to -farm, with a stipulation for a donation to the poor of the parish, or the -fabric of the church, or the like.[338] - -William, the son of Gilbert FitzStephen, presented to the parish of -Kentisbury, was refused by Bishop Stapledon on the ground that he was too -illiterate for such a charge. The influence of powerful friends was -brought to bear upon the bishop, and he conceded thus far--that the young -man should go to school (_scolas grammaticales_), and if, after awhile, he -could admit him with a good conscience, he would do so, and would not, in -the mean time, take advantage of the law which made the nomination lapse -to himself at the end of six months. But it does not appear in the -Register that William FitzStephen was ever instituted; and the institution -of John de Wyke, priest, in the following year, by the patron, indicates -that the illiterate young man abandoned the idea of becoming Rector of -Kentisbury, and perhaps did service, such as he was qualified to perform -satisfactorily, under his father's banner in the field. Sometimes the -bishop dealt with a case more peremptorily. Bishop Grostete refused a -presentee whom he described as "a boy still in his Ovid." The same bishop -refused to admit to a benefice a man presented by the Chancellor of York, -on the ground that he was almost illiterate; and sends the young man's -examination papers that the chancellor may judge for himself. He refused -to institute W. de Grana on the presentation of W. Raleigh, the treasurer -of Exeter, because of his youth and ignorance; but that Raleigh may not -think him ungrateful, he promises to give his nominee a pension of ten -marks a year till he gets a better benefice. In answer to a request of the -Legate Otho to institute Thomas, a son of Earl Ferrers, to a benefice, he -begs to be excused; but if the matter is pressed, he begs that a vicar may -be appointed to the parish, and that Thomas may have some provision out of -the living without cure of souls.[339] In 1530, Bishop Holbeach of Lincoln -rejected a Canon of Ronton nominated to the Vicarage of Seighford as -_indoctus et indignus_. Richard Swinfield, Bishop of Hereford (1283-1316), -refused to institute a boy of sixteen, of the name of Baskerville, to the -Vicarage of Weobley, on the presentation of the Prior and Canons of -Llanthony, though pressed by a powerful relative of the boy. - - In 1283, in the time of Bishop Quivil of Exeter, Barthol le Seneschal, - who had been presented to the Rectory of St. Erme, was found to be not - in Holy Orders, and not old enough to be ordained; but both - difficulties were evaded, for, though not at once instituted as - rector, "the sequestration and custody of the church were committed to - him," and so he was enabled to act as rector in the management of - affairs, and to receive the income, and to appoint a vicar or chaplain - to do the spiritual work of the parish.[340] - - Robert de Umfrenville, clerk, was instituted in 1317 by Bishop - Stapledon of Exeter, on the presentation of Henry de Umfrenville--very - likely his father--to the rectory of Lapford; but the bishop required, - under a penalty of a hundred shillings, that he should go to Grammar - School, and should come to the bishop at least once a-year, that the - bishop might know what progress he was making. The young man would - seem not to have given himself to study, and, at the end of three - years, to have found the position untenable, for he sent in his - resignation by letter, dated June, 1320. - - In 1317, a rector of Bath and Wells diocese, on his institution, was - bidden to keep a good chaplain to teach him, since he was but - indifferently learned. As he was the presentee of the king, the bishop - had special inducement to be lenient.[341] - -But the refusals of the bishops to admit men in minor orders were very -exceptional. A large proportion of the rectories were occupied by such -men. The canons of the diocesan synods show that the ecclesiastical -authorities were continually urging them to proceed to priest's orders; -but the bishops had no power to compel them to do so;[342] and the -parochial lists of incumbents bear witness that some of the rectories were -occupied by men in minor orders in almost unbroken succession. - -Another kindred evil was that of simple _absenteeism_, not because the -rector was engaged in other occupations elsewhere, or that he was a -pluralist, and could not be everywhere, but simply because he preferred to -be somewhere else than in his parish. He put his benefice to farm, -appointed a parish chaplain, and departed. He needed a licence of -non-residence, if absent for any lengthy period. We have glimpses of the -reasons for which licences of non-residence were sometimes given. The -commonest is for leisure to attend schools, which we shall have to speak -of at length presently. Another reason is that the licensee may go on -pilgrimage; for example, in 1225, Archbishop Gray gives a licence to -Godfred, vicar of St. Felix, who has taken the cross, to put his benefice -to farm for three years during his visit to the Holy Land. Bishop -Grandisson of Exeter gives a licence of non-residence to Sir Ralph -Kerneyke, Rector of St. Erme, till 2 February 1331-2, to visit the -thresholds of St. James in Galicia and the Court of Rome, and then without -any delay to return to his church. In 1329, Ady de Tavistock, Rector of -St. Gerundus, Cornwall, had a licence to make a pilgrimage to Rome;[343] -and similar cases occur in other bishops' registers. Frequently the -absence is said to be granted at the request of so-and-so,[344] very -likely the patron of the parish, who thus confirms the reasons which the -incumbent has alleged, and signifies his consent to his parson's absence. -The patron had sometimes a personal reason for his action in the -matter.[345] For example, Gerard Myghell (or Mychell), Rector of Theydon -Garnon, Essex, in 1507 put his rectory to farm for three years to Sir -William Hyll, chaplain, and Francis Hamden, esquire, in order to become -tutor to John Hamden during his travels on the Continent of Europe. It -appears that Francis Hamden was the squire of the parish, and John was his -son, and probably Sir William Hyll, chaplain, was the priest who was to -take charge of the parish during the rector's absence, which seems a very -good choice of trustees. The rector lets to farm, all his church and -parsonage with all manor of tithes, fruits, profits, rights, commodities, -and emoluments, whatsoever, with all the lands, pastures, leases, for 8 a -year; but he reserves all the whole "lochynge" [lodging] at the gate (of -the churchyard), viz. a parlour with a chimney and a larder at the end of -the said parlour, and two chambers over a study, and a wyddraughte [? -drain], perhaps to lodge his old housekeeper in during his absence. There -is still an ancient house in the churchyard which may possibly be the -lodging here mentioned. There is a letter from the rector, from Rouen, -relating how he and his pupil are getting on, and very naturally asking -for supplies of money and clothing. - - * * * * * - -We had occasion to deal with the subject of _slavery_ in the Saxon period, -concluding with the estimate of Sharon Turner,[346] that, of the -population of England at the end of that time, as calculated from Domesday -Book, three-quarters of the population of two millions were in a state of -slavery. - -We may introduce here the statement that, although the Church all along -the ages used its influence in favour of the just treatment of the serf -population, in the spirit of St. Paul; and encouraged manumission, and set -the example; and freely gave dispensations to sons of serfs to enter into -Holy Orders and hold church benefices; yet the status of serfage was -suffered to continue among the tenants of the Church after it had almost -disappeared elsewhere.[347] - -We add a few notes on the subject in medival times. Here is one which -tells us the value of a serf. Gregory, Abbot of Whalley, in 1309, sells -his _nativus, cum tota sequela sua, et omnibus rebus suis habitis et -habendis_, for 100_s._ sterling.[348] - -In the Register of Walter Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, is an entry under -date 1315-- - - Be it known to all present and future, that we, Walter, etc., have - given and granted "Magistro de la Gale, clerico, Richardum de la Gale, - filium Edwardi de la Gale, nativum nostrum, cum tota sequela sua et - omnibus catallis suis," so that neither we nor our successors may be - able to make any claim for service from the said Richard. - -It seems to be the case of granting to a clerk the freedom of a relative -who was a _nativus_ (serf). - -So late as 1536, the Registers of Chichester supply an example of -manumission by Bishop Sherburne. The deed of manumission begins, as is -usual in deeds of manumission of that time, with a quotation from the -Institutes of Justinian, "Whereas at the beginning nature brought forth -all men free, and afterwards the law of nations placed certain of them -under the yoke of servitude; we believe that it is pious and meritorious -towards God to manumit them, and restore them to the benefit of pristine -liberty;" therefore the bishop emancipates Nicholas Holden, a "native and -serf," who for many years had served him on his manor of Woodmancote and -elsewhere, from every chain, servitude, and servile condition by which he -was bound to the bishop and his cathedral, and, so far as he can, to make -him a free man. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE CATHEDRAL. - - -In order to give a complete view of the position and work of the parochial -clergy in town and country, it is necessary to indicate, however briefly, -both their connection with the cathedral and their relations with the -monasteries. In this chapter we attempt the former subject; the latter in -a following chapter. - -We must glance back at our history and recall the time when the cathedral -was the mother church of the diocese, and the bishop and his clergy lived -together as one family. Some of them remained always at head-quarters to -keep up the Divine service with as full a choir as their circumstances -permitted, and to carry on the schools, which formed so important a branch -of their work of Christian civilization; while others were itinerating -hither and thither through the diocese preaching the gospel to the people. -Then, we remember, came the gradual organization of the parochial system, -by which the great majority of the clergy were scattered over the -diocese, each residing permanently in his own rectory-house, and -ministering constantly to his own people. - -[Illustration: CONFESSION IN LENT. LATE XV. CENT. MS., 25698, f. 9.] - -The bishop, however, still retained a strong staff about him at the -cathedral, for the honour of the Divine service and for general diocesan -work; and the old tradition of an ascetic common life would naturally be -maintained there, when it was no longer practicable in the scattered -rectories. This staff would need organization. One man would be put in -general command during the absences of the bishop on his visitations of -the diocese; another would be in permanent charge of the schools; another -would have special charge of the services; another would be the treasurer -of the bishop's common fund; and thus naturally arose the four dignities -of all the old cathedrals--the dean, the chancellor, the precentor, and -the treasurer. Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz, the great chancellor of Charles -Martel, organized the clergy of his cathedral into a community, adapting -the rule of St. Benedict (which was then being pressed upon all the -monasteries) to the circumstances of a body of secular clergy. After the -Norman Conquest some of our bishops attempted to introduce the same -organization into England, at Exeter, and Wells, and, with some -modifications, at York; but the innovation did not flourish here. - -The development of a more settled constitution of our English cathedral -bodies of secular canons took the course of giving the cathedral clergy a -more independent corporate life. The first great step towards it was the -division of the common property into two portions, one at the disposal of -the bishop, the other the endowment of the chapter. The property allotted -to the canons was then subdivided, estates being attached to the four -great dignities; and, lastly, distinct endowments, called prebends, were -assigned to the individual members of the general corporate body; still -retaining a common dean and chapter fund divisible annually among the -canons, or some of them. The concession to the chapter of the privilege of -electing its own dean, completed the work, and made the dean and chapter -an independent ecclesiastical corporation. The chapter thus definitely -constituted soon acquired new rights and privileges. Already in the eighth -century they had obtained the right of being the bishop's council; then -they gained the right, to the exclusion of the rest of the clergy, of -electing the bishop; then, that of representing the bishop's authority -during a vacancy. Lastly, the dean, originally intended to represent the -bishop during his absence, asserted his independence of the bishop as -ruler of the chapter; and it cost Grostete, Bishop of Lincoln, a long and -bitter contest to establish his right to "visit" the chapter of his -cathedral, a contest in which he said that he was contending for the -dropped rights of all the bishops of England. - -We have been speaking of the cathedrals which were served by bodies of -secular clergy. But some of the cathedral bodies had adopted the -Benedictine rule, and were monasteries in which the bishop occupied in -some respects, the place of abbot, but the prior was the actual ruler. -These were Canterbury, Durham, Norwich, Rochester, Winchester, and -Worcester, and the two post-Norman sees, one placed in the great -Benedictine House of Ely, the other in the House of Austin Canons at -Carlisle. - -The bishops soon found it desirable to secure the services of one or more -archdeacons to help them in maintaining an oversight of their scattered -clergy; soon after the Conquest, the archdeacons had their courts of -jurisdiction, in which most of the minor cases of ecclesiastical -discipline were dealt with. - -The practical oversight of the parochial clergy was maintained partly by -synods, partly by visitations. The bishop held an annual synod, to which -all the clergy of the diocese were bound to come in person or by proxy. -The bishop also went the round of his diocese at intervals, usually of -three years. He could not visit every parish, but the clergy met him at -several convenient centres, with some of their chief parishioners, and the -synodsmen gave in written replies to a set of questions--with which we -have already dealt--which constituted a very searching--not to say -inquisitorial--scrutiny into the life and conduct not only of the clergy, -but of the laity also. - - A Constitution of Archbishop Boniface, 1260, directed every bishop to - have in his diocese one or two prisons for confining clerics - flagitious in crime, or convicted by canonical censure, and "we decree - that any cleric who shall be incorrigible in his wickedness and - habituated to committing crime to such a degree that if he were a - layman he would, according to the secular law, suffer the extreme - penalty, such cleric shall be adjudged to perpetual imprisonment." - -The archdeacons held their visitations, making inquiry specially into the -state of the fabrics and furniture of the churches and parsonage houses; -the rural deans also played a minor part in extending this oversight into -every corner of the land. - -After this general introduction, it will best serve our purpose of giving -a popular idea of the part which a cathedral took in the religious life of -the clergy and people, to select an individual example, and treat it a -little more in detail. - - * * * * * - -When Remigius, anticipating the policy of the Council of London, -transferred his see from Sidnacester (Stowe) to Lincoln, he found the -king's new castle already occupying the south-west quarter of the area -within the Roman walls of the old Colonia; and purchased the south-east -quarter for the site of his new cathedral; a wide open space only -separated the castle-gate from the humbler gate of the cathedral close. -The old inhabitants, reinforced by the new military and ecclesiastical -populations, found the northern half of the city too strait for them, and -a new walled town sprang up at the foot of the hill, and soon stretched -out a long, narrow suburb southward, along the high-road, defended by -parallel dykes. The situation was a fine one. The long tableland to the -north here falls steeply to the level of the river Witham, and overlooks -another long level stretching southward. From the north, the castle keep -and the minster towers (when they were built) could be seen from every -yard of the twelve miles of perfectly straight Roman road which ran -northwards towards the Humber. Seen from the south, the view of the city -was a glorious one. The new buildings of the castle and minster extended -in a long line on the brow of the hill; an irregular line of steep street -connected the old city with the new town at its feet; the river, enlarged -and made navigable by the Romans, protected the approach from the south, -and wound through low ground past the monastery of Bardney, and, in later -days, the castle and collegiate church of Tatteshall, to the port of -Boston at its embouchere. Durham only of English cathedrals occupies so -advantageous a site, and, together with its palatine castle, presents as -noble an architectural effect. The church grew century after century, -after the manner of cathedrals. A portion of the west front of Remigius -still remains surrounded by the later work of Alexander; St. Hugh of -Avalon added the magnificent choir; Grostete added the central tower and -the parts adjacent; and so at last the Church attained the magnificent -proportions which still excite our admiration. The bishop's palace was -built on a levelled space of the hillside south of the cathedral; the -ruins of the "early English" halls and towers founded by St. Hugh, -finished by Hugh of Wells, and the chapel added by Alnwick, still remain; -and the pleasant hanging gardens above and below the buildings. The -cathedral close was inclosed[349] by a wall, and its entrances at the -north-east, south-east, and west were defended by gates; the "exchequer -gate" at the west had a gate-house with a large chamber in the upper -story. The principal residentiary buildings of a monastery were grouped in -a customary order round the cloister court; but the houses of the -dignitaries of a cathedral were arranged as convenience suggested. The -deanery[350] stands north, and the sub-deanery south of the church; on -the east side of the close still remain two old stone houses with -picturesque oriels, which were--and are--the official residences of the -chancellor and the precentor; the chancery has a private chapel in it. - -[Illustration: Lincoln, from the Fens.] - -In the fourteenth century it became the custom, for their greater -convenience and better discipline, to incorporate the[351] vicars choral, -and to place them in a court of their own. The vicar's court remains at -Wells, Hereford, Chichester, and York. That at Wells, for fourteen -priests, is a long inclosure with a row of seven small stone houses on -each side, a chapel, with a library over it at the further end, and a hall -over the entrance gate, from which there is a picturesque covered way over -the public road into the north transept of the church, by which the vicars -could go in comfort to their daily duties--like the pope's covered way -from the Vatican to the Castle of St. Angelo. There are only some remains -of the vicar's court at Lincoln, on the east side of the palace grounds, -the old Roman wall dividing them. Every cathedral had a number of -chantries, one of the very earliest was that to Bishop Hugh of Wells, in -this cathedral. The Burghersh chantry, founded by Bartholomew Burghersh, -had five priests, who, with the six choristers and their schoolmaster, -formed a corporate body, and all lived together in the chantry-house, -which still remains in very perfect condition on the south side of the -close. Among the interesting features of Lincoln, the treasurer had charge -of a dispensary, which contained his stock of medicines; walls of an -apartment in the cathedral are still surrounded by the niches.[352] - -The chapter-house of a cathedral, served by seculars, was a very important -feature. In monasteries it was always quadrangular, but in secular -cathedrals, for some unknown reason, it was always polygonal.[353] It had -always a central pillar, from which the groining spread on all sides, like -the leaves of a palm-tree; externally it was covered with a tall conical -roof. Here the dean and chapter met for the transaction of their capitular -affairs, and here the bishop held his synods. - -The _camera communis_ (common room) of the canons intervened between the -north transept and the chapter-house; over the vestibule was the office of -the master of the works. Near by, north-east of the chapter-house, is a -well, covered with a little stone octagonal building with conical roof. -When we call to mind that there are wells within several cathedral -churches--at York, in which King Edwin was baptized by Paulinus, at -Winchester, and elsewhere--we are led to conjecture that the water of -these wells may have been used for various ritual purposes. - -The date of the incorporation of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln is 1086, -and the bishop gave it statutes which seem to have been derived from -Rouen.[354] The historian, Henry of Huntingdon, gives a charming -description of the members of the original chapter, who were personally -known to him, for he was the son of one of them.[355] - - "Ralph the Dean, a venerable priest. Rayner the Treasurer, full of - religion, had prepared a tomb against the day of his death, and oft - sate by it singing of psalms and praying long whiles, to use himself - to his eternal home. Hugh the Chancellor, worthy of all memory, the - mainstay and, as it were, the foundation of the Church. Osbert, - Archdeacon of Bedford, afterward Chancellor, a man wholly sweet and - loveable. William, a young Canon of great genius. Albin (my own tutor) - and Albin's brothers, most honourable men, my dearest friends, men of - profoundest science, brightest purity, utter innocence, and yet by - God's inscrutable judgement they were smitten with leprosy; but death - hath made them clean. Nicolas, Archdeacon of Cambridge, Huntingdon, - and Hertford--none more beautiful in person, in character beautiful no - less, 'Stella Cleri,' so styled in his Epitaph [Henry's father]. - Walter, prince of orators. Gislebert, elegant in prose, in verse, in - dress. With many other honoured names with which I may not tax your - patience."[356] - -One of the reasons which Bishop Alnwick gave for assigning large salaries -to the holders of stalls was the way in which they "devote themselves to -the public service, in self-imposed tasks over and above their daily -expositions and constant toils and numerous burdens."[357] - - * * * * * - -With the help of the "Valor Ecclesiasticus" of Henry VIII., we are able to -people the cathedral, and palace, and residentiary houses, and vicar's -court, and chantries, with the men who lived and served there at the time -of the Reformation, and even to pry into their account-books and tell -their several incomes, to the third part of a farthing. - -The Right Rev. John Longland,[358] who was the bishop in those troublous -times, lived in St. Hugh's stately halls and towers on the sunny slope -under the shelter of the minster; and to maintain his dignity, and -household, and hospitalities, and various expenses, the annual value of -"all the domains, manors, castles, parks, rectories, lands, tenements, and -other temporal possessions," of this see was Mccclxxviij, viij, vq', -_i.e._ to say, 1378 8_s._ 5-1/4_d._; and "all the spiritualities of the -said Lord John" amounted, one year with another, to Diiij{xx}iiij, viij, -xjq', _i.e._ 584 8_s._ 11-1/4_d._; making together an income of -mdcccclxij, xvij, iiijob, or 1962 17_s._ 4-1/2_d._, equivalent in our -money to about 23,554 8_s._ 6_d._[359] - -If the reader does not know what the "spiritualities" here mentioned are, -he is not more ignorant than some great statesmen have been. For, on one -occasion, the late Earl Russell asserted that the bishops received their -spiritual authority from the Crown, on the ground that by one of the -documents issued from a Crown office to a newly-elected bishop, restored -the "spiritualities" as well as the "temporalities" to the new occupant of -the see. The "Valor" tells us of what these spiritualities consisted: -Portions and pensions from benefices, fees for procurations and synodals, -institutions and inductions, faculties, probate of wills, and such-like. -Temporalities, in short, are real property, and spiritualities are fees -and perquisites. - -The dean and chapter had, as a common fund, the profits of twenty -appropriate rectories; and from these and other sources they derived an -annual income; for part of which they were only trustees, and had to pay -out of it for the maintenance of the choristers, and the stipends of -various chantry priests and others; leaving a balance of Dvj xiij iiij -ob'q di q', which means 506 13_s._ 4-1/2_d._ 1/4 and half 1/4. This -balance was divided among the six residentiary canons, making 83 11_s._ -1_d._ to each, with a remainder of ij ob' di'q', or 2-1/2_d._ and half a -farthing. The residentiary canons in question were the dignitaries, Mr. -George Hennage, the Dean; James Mallet, the precentor; Christopher -Massingberd, the chancellor; John Pryn, the sub-dean; and the others -were, John Talbot[360] and Simon Green, _alias_ Foderby. - -The dean and chapter were also trustees of a fabric fund derived from land -and rents; out of which they had first to pay the stipends of several -chantry priests, three and a chapel clerk serving the altar of the Blessed -Virgin Mary, and one each at the Welburn and Crosby Chantries; then they -had to pay certain workmen constantly retained, a carpenter, -"lathonius,"[361] plumber, glazier, smith, cleaner of brass vessels and -candelabra, surveyor of the fabric, organist[362] at the mass of the -Blessed Virgin Mary, and lastly the bailiff of lands and tenements. The -balance after these payments was 575 7_s._ 2-1/2_d._ 1/4 and half 1/4; -and this balance was divided among the six residentiary canons aforesaid, -giving 95 17_s._ 10-1/2_d._ to each; it must be borne in mind that they -were liable for occasional heavy expenditure on the repairs of fabric, -which had to come out of their purses. Each dignity had its own special -endowments; the separate estates of the deanery[363] produced an income of -196 10_s._ 8_d._; of the precentory 8 2_s._ 4_d._, of the chancery 54 -1_s._ 5_d._, of the treasury 10 13_s._ 4_d._; of the sub-deanery 35 -8_s._ - -Then, again, every dignitary held a prebend of more or less value, which -shall be set forth presently in a general statement. - -A little research reveals the fact that each of the dignitaries also held -one or more parochial benefices; for example, Mr. George Hennage[364] was -Master of the Collegiate Church of Tatteshall; he was also Rector of -Gedney, Washingburghe, Howby, Benningworth, and Flyxburgh. - -The precentor also held the Rectory of Longleddenham. The chancellor was -also Vicar of Byker, Rector of Highkame, and Rector of Foletby. Mr. Pryn, -the sub-dean, seems to have held nothing besides his dignity and his -prebendal stall, except the Singing Schools (under the precentor). There -were Prebendal Schools under the oversight of the prebendaries themselves, -and others "which are maintained by local managers for the instruction of -their parishioners in faith and letters." - -It may seem a little invidious, perhaps, to add these several sums -together and bring out the totals; but it is a part of the work which we -have undertaken, and we do not feel at liberty to decline it; it will, at -least, remind us that we have in modern times made some economic changes -in the administration of cathedral affairs; not altogether satisfactory -ones, for, with the usual want of moderation in the minds of reformers, -instead of judicious pruning, the cruel knife has left little beyond a -bare stem. - -To sum up, then-- - - Mr. George Hennage, the dean, had 196 10_s._ 8_d._ of his deanery; - 83 11_s._ 1_d._ of the Dean and Chapter Fund; 95 17_s._ 10_d._ of - the Fabric Fund; 42 7_s._ 4_d._ of his Prebend of Biggleswade;[365] - 20 as Master of Tatteshall College;[366] 23 11_s._ as Rector of - Gedney;[367] 27 3_s._ 4_d._ as Rector of Washingborough;[368] 22 - 8_s._ 5-1/4_d._ as Rector of Howby;[369] 23 8_s._ 6_d._ as Rector of - Benningworth;[370] and 13 10_s._ as Rector of Flyxboro';[371] making a - total of 548 8_s._ 3_d._ - - Mr. James Mallett, the precentor, had only 8 2_s._ 4_d._ of his - precentory; 83 11_s._ 1_d._ his share of the Dean and Chapter Fund; - 95 17_s._ 10_d._ of the Fabric Fund; he was Prebendary of - Empyngham,[372] which brought him 35 6_s._ 5_d._, and Rector of - Longleddenham,[373] 29 12_s._ 8_d._ Total, 252 10_s._ 4_d._ - - Mr. Christopher Massingberd, the chancellor, had 54 1_s._ 5_d._ of - his chancellorship; 83 11_s._ 1_d._ of the Dean and Chapter Fund; and - 95 17_s._ 10_d._ of the Fabric Fund; as Vicar of Byker,[374] 15; as - Rector of High Kame,[375] 19 16_s._ 2_d._; as Rector of Foletby,[376] - 21 2_s._ 8_d._ Total, 289 9_s._ 2_d._ - - The treasurership, vacant at that moment, was worth 10 13_s._ 4_d._; - with 83 11_s._ 1_d._ of the Dean and Chapter Fund, and 95 17_s._ - 10_d._ of the Fabric Fund. Total, 190 2_s._ 3_d._ - - Mr. John Pryn, the sub-dean, had 35 8_s._ of his dignity; 83 11_s._ - 1_d._ of the Dean and Chapter Fund; 95 17_s._ 10_d._ of the Fabric - Fund; and of his Prebend of Keton,[377] 29 10_s._ 2_d._ Total, 244 - 7_s._ 1_d._ - -It must be borne in mind that these were great dignitaries of one of the -greatest and wealthiest dioceses, and had to maintain a certain degree of -state in their household and expenditure. Each dignitary had also to find -at his own cost everything which belonged to his office; the precentor -everything which belonged to Divine services, vestments, service books, -etc. The chancellor had to maintain the divinity school of the -cathedral--at one time a very famous one, the cathedral grammar school, -and was responsible for all the schools in the city and county. - -Should any reader have recognized among these dignitaries of Lincoln -Cathedral the names of well-known families of the diocese, he must not be -satisfied with a passing thought on the effect of family influence in the -distribution of Church patronage, which may be true enough; he must add -the reflection that in those times it was thought fitting not only to give -the grandest architecture, the most costly material, and the best art to -the material church, but also to dedicate the best blood of the people to -its ministry; much as in old times the greatest and proudest nobles held -domestic offices--dapifer and the like--at the court of the king, and no -one who was not of gentle birth was thought worthy to attend him. - -We shall entirely fail to understand the whole spirit and meaning of a -medival cathedral if we have not fully grasped the idea that it was not -intended to be merely a centre of busy diocesan work; the magnificent -building and its sumptuous furniture, the numerous and complex -organization of its staff of ministers richly endowed, were all directed -to the honour and worship of Almighty God. It was the embodiment in this -dispensation of the ideal of worship which God Himself sanctioned in the -old dispensation, when His Temple at Jerusalem was "exceeding -magnifical,"[378] and the high priest wore jewels of untold price on his -mystic breastplate, and a whole tribe--a twelfth of the people--were set -apart for the ministry, and the well-endowed priests came up in the turn -of their twenty-four courses to the honour of officiating for a fortnight -in a year before the Presence in the Holy of Holies. - -There were fifty-two prebendaries, whose canopied oak stalls form the most -striking feature of the choir of the cathedral. A prebend was sometimes a -manor, more frequently a rectory, rarely a sum of money, which formed an -endowment for a canon.[379] For the most part the prebendaries were -supposed to reside upon their prebends, to maintain Divine service, and a -school, and hospitality there. Every prebendary was required to maintain a -vicar choral at the cathedral; he himself came into residence for one -week in the year, and during that week took the principal position in the -cathedral services. On his Sunday of duty he was expected to entertain -nineteen of the under officers at dinner, and to receive others at -different meals during the week. The dean was required about thirty times -a year to give an "honorificus pastus" to all the choir and vicars, "to -make life and work more pleasant to them."[380] One fact is enough to show -that the prebendaries of Lincoln were a very distinguished body of -men:--of the fifty-two stalls, all but one--some of them more than -once--has given a bishop to Lincoln, and from among them every English see -has been filled, and many of them twice. - -One of the statutory duties of the prebendaries is very little known, and -is so curious and interesting as to deserve mention here, even though it -requires a few words of preface to make the spirit of it quite -intelligible. Among other remarkable designs which entered into pious -minds in those medival communities was that of maintaining a ceaseless -service of praise--_laus perennis_--or a daily recitation of the whole -Psalter. The former was a conventual devotion, and was done in this way: -there were always two priests before the altar, night and day, relieved at -regular intervals, singing the Psalms. The latter was a cathedral -devotion, where it was a rule that the dean and prebendaries as a body -should say the whole Psalter every day to the glory of God. The same -devotion was maintained at Salisbury, Wells, and St. Paul's. The task was -not a hard one, for the Psalter was divided among them; one prebend said -the first, second, third, fourth Psalms, another the fifth, sixth, -seventh, and so on; the 119th Psalm was divided between several of them; -each made it a matter of conscience to say the Psalms allotted to him; and -thus, from the time of Bishop St. Hugh, the prebendaries of Lincoln, -wherever they were scattered, were brought together in spirit by this -interesting observance, and said the whole Psalter daily to the glory of -God. It will perhaps surprise some of our readers to learn that they keep -up the observance to this day.[381] - - We shall not trouble the reader with more than a few notes on the - value of the fifty-two prebends. Some of them were very valuable, - _e.g._ Leighton Manor, Leighton Buzzard, Cropredy, and Sutton, each - brought in to their fortunate holders 40, but the majority were - between 5 and 10. There are several noticeable ones--the Prebend - Sexaginta Solidorum, and the Prebend Centum Solidorum, and the Prebend - Decem Librarum, _i.e._ the prebends of Sixty Shillings, a Hundred - Shillings, and Ten Pounds. The custos of St. Peter's altar received - for commons and wine[382] as a canon 20 a year. - -Some of these prebends, as we have seen, were held by the dignitaries; -some, as we shall presently see, by the archdeacons. Some of them afforded -a comfortable maintenance alone. It is to be hoped that the holders of -others--especially of one whose value is returned as "nihil"--had other -benefices to help out their incomes. They were not by any means all given -to priests in the diocese. A prebend was a very comfortable benefice, -which might be held by anybody, and they were given to all sorts of -people; _e.g._ two of them seem to have been held by the Dean and -Precentor of Chichester.[383] - - * * * * * - -To assist the bishop in the spiritual oversight of this vast diocese, -which embraced 8 counties, and extended from the Humber to the Thames, the -bishop had 8 archdeacons, whose incomes and the sources of them are -reported in the "Valor."[384] - - The Archdeacon of Lincoln received for procurations, 171 17_s._ - 10_d._, for synodals at Pentecost, 29 14_s._ 3_d._, and at - Michaelmas, 16 14_s._ 3_d._, and pensions, 5 17_s._, making a total - of 234 2_s._ 4_d._ But out of that he had to pay the Prebendary of - Ten Pounds 10, and 50_s._ to the Prebendary of Carleton, to his - Receiver-General 8 13_s._ 4_d._, and 58_s._ to the three vergers of - the Cathedral, leaving him a net income from this source of 179 - 19_s._ Archdeacon Richard Pate was also Prebendary of Sutton and - Buckingham, from which he received 110 3_s._ 6_d._; he was also - Rector of Kybworth, which was worth 39 14_s._ 11_d._; so that his - total income was 329 17_s._ 5_d._ - - The Archdeaconry of Stow was worth 24 2_s._ 8-1/2_d._, and Archdeacon - Darley does not appear to have held other preferment, at least in - Lincoln Diocese. - - The Archdeaconry of Huntingdon was worth 57 4_s._ 2_d._, and - Archdeacon Knight was also Prebendary of Farundon, worth 30 11_s._ - 2_d._ - - The Archdeaconry of Bedford was worth 57 2_s._ 3_d._, and Dr. Chamber - the Archdeacon was Prebendary of Leighton Buzzard, worth 40, Rector - of Leighton, worth 6 17_s._ 7-1/4_d._, and of Bowden Magna, worth 53 - 8_s._ 10-1/2_d._ - - The Archdeaconry of Leicester was worth 80 12_s._ 4_d._ Dr. Foxe[385] - was the archdeacon. - - The Archdeaconry of Northampton was worth 107 7_s._ Gilbert Smith, - the Archdeacon, was Prebendary of Leighton Bromeswold, worth 57 - 15_s._ 1_d._[386] - - The Archdeaconry of Buckingham was worth 82 14_s._ 5_d._, and Richard - Leighton the archdeacon seems to have had no other preferment in the - Diocese of Lincoln. - - The Archdeaconry of Oxford was worth 71 6_s._ Richard Coren, the - archdeacon, held also the Prebendary of Welton Paynshall, worth 5 - 11_s._ 11_d._ - -There were--or should have been--twenty-five _Vicars Choral_, who were -paid a stipend, each by his own Prebendary, of 2. The Corporate Body of -Vicars also had property which yielded a net annual income of 145 11_s._ -2_d._, which divided between the twenty-five vicars gave to each 5 16_s._ -5_d._, "leaving a remainder of 9_d._ to be divided into twenty-five -parts;" and fifteen of them had chantries assigned to them. - - * * * * * - -At the time of the "Taxatio" there appears to have been only one chantry -in the cathedral, for the soul of Bishop Hugh of Wells; by the time of -the "Valor" the chantries had grown in number to thirty-six. - - One vicar was cantarist of the Chantry of William Winchcome, which, - after giving 20_s._ to the poor and other payments, was worth 6 5_s._ - 4_d._ The same vicar received 2 for playing the organ at the Mass of - the Blessed Virgin Mary, and also 1 6_s._ 8_d._ for playing at the - Jesus Mass. Other vicars served the following chantries: of Hervey de - Luda, worth 9_s._ 4_d._; of Simon Barton, 9_s._; of William Thornake, - 4. 2_s._ 4_d._; of Henry Benyngworth, 8_s._ 8_d._; of Robert and John - Lacy, 8_s._; of William Hemyngburge and others, 8_s._; of William - FitzFulke, 4; of King Edward II., 12_s._, and the same clerk filled - the office of succentor, for which he received from the precentor - 50_s._, and 6_s._ 6_d._ for wines at the Feast of the Assumption of - the Blessed Virgin Mary, and from the Chapter, 7_s._ 6_d._; for wines - at the end of the year _p'pastu chori_, 18_s._ 9_d._; making 4 12_s._ - 9_d._ The cantarist of Roger Benetson received 5 12_s._; of Walter - Stanreth, 4; of Oliver Sutton, 8_s._; of Geoffrey Pollard and others, - 9_s._ 4_d._; of Gilbert Umfraville, 4 6_s._ 8_d._, the same clerk - occupied the office called Clerk of the Hospital, for which he - received from the Prior and Convent of St. Katharine juxta Lincoln, - 24_s._ 2_d._; and from the Chapter for a gown, 9_s._, and other sums - amounting to 1 14_s._ 10_d._; of Hugh of Wells, after paying for 2 - vicar chaplains, and to the vicars of the second form, and to the - servants of the Church, and in alms at the obit of the founder, - received 6, the same clerk filled the office of sacrist, for which he - received from the Treasurer and in perquisites, 6 17_s._ 6_d._ The 6 - clerks who said the daily mass at the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary - received each 13_s._ 5_d._ There were 4 vacancies in the body of - vicars choral, and the 4 shares were divided among the remaining 21 - vicars. - - Besides the chantries in the presentation of the dean and chapter, and - divided by them among the vicars choral, there were other chantries, - of which a separate account is given. Some of them with more than one - chaplain. The chantry of Nicholas de Cantelupe had 2 cantarists, who - received 19 10_s._ 2_d._ between them; that of Bishop Henry Lexington - had 2 cantarists, each of whom received 8_s._ 8_d._; 14 other - chantries were worth various sums, from 8_s._ 4_d._ to 13. The - chantry of Bartholomew Burghersh had 5 chaplains, who received 7 - 9_s._ 0-1/2-1/4_d._ each, it also maintained 6 poor boys and their - master at a cost of 12 7_s._ 4_d._ - -The choristers had a special fund in the trusteeship of the dean and -chapter, out of which were entirely maintained twelve boys and the master -who instructed them in singing, playing the organ, and grammar, at an -annual cost of 34 13_s._ 5-1/2_d._ - - * * * * * - -To these ministers of the church must be added a number of officials of -another kind, the bailiffs, receivers, and auditors of the various -properties; the inferior servants of the church; the constable of the -close; the porters of the gates of the close; the searchers of the church -or night watch, who had a timber chamber in the choir transept; and the -domestic servants of the residents. - - * * * * * - -Let the reader, who has perhaps wandered through the empty cathedral to -admire its wonderful proportions and beautiful architecture, and who has, -while so doing, felt the moral chill of its emptiness, try to refurnish it -with the shrines, chapels, and tombs, the loft for the nightly watchers of -the shrine, the cell of the recluse priest, all inclosed within the vast -ground plan and towering height of the main building, reminding us of the -many mansions in the House of the Heavenly Father. Or let him place -himself in imagination in the choir on the day on which the medival -bishop was holding his synod. The stalls at the west end are occupied by -the dean and the four dignitaries in their copes, who face eastward and -overlook the whole assembly. The canopied stalls on the sides are filled -by their prebendaries in surplice and furred cope; the vicars choral and -the choristers are in their places in the subsell on each side; the long -rows of benches in front of the stalls are filled by the clergy of the -diocese, so many as can find room; the bishop in cope and mitre occupies -his lofty canopied throne at the east end of the south line of stalls; the -great nave beyond is crowded with the rest of the clergy and their -synodsmen, and the citizens, and the people from the country round, -attracted to the imposing spectacle. It is the whole people of a diocese -stretching from the Humber to the Thames, which by representation has -assembled in the mother church to listen to their bishop's fatherly -exhortations, and to join with him in a united service of worship of -Almighty God. - -Let us adjourn to the chapter-house, which seems so empty and so useless -to the modern visitor. See it filled now, with the bishop on the stone -throne opposite the entrance, and the dignitaries of the cathedral and the -archdeacons seated to right and left of him, and the whole area crowded -with the clergy and synodsmen; it is the people of his diocese--the -clergy in person, the laity by their representatives--come to report -themselves to their bishop, to submit themselves to his jurisdiction, to -receive his admonitions and counsels. The House of Lords is a rather -depressing spectacle to the visitor who gazes on its empty grandeur; but -see it filled on some great day, _e.g._ when the Sovereign opens -Parliament in person, and it is not too grand for the meeting-place of the -Sovereign and Peers of Britain and for the transaction of the business of -an Empire. In the chapter-house it was the spiritual business of the King -of kings which was transacted--business which concerned the eternal -interests of those present; so the grand and beautiful building, with its -soaring central pillar and its overshadowing groining, was not too grand -for the spiritual significance of the multitude which its walls encircled. - -So the broad lawns which surround the building were not left only to -enable the spectator to obtain a good view of the building. Their use was -seen on St. Hugh's Day, when the people of the town and villages came -trooping in at every gate, with crosses and banners and painted wands, and -needed space in which to arrange the long procession which wound slowly -round the close and entered by the western door. - - * * * * * - -The magnitude and importance of the dioceses differed greatly, and so did -the emoluments of the bishops and of the cathedral establishments. We -have given Lincoln as an example of the greater dioceses; we may take the -Diocese of the South Saxons, with its See at Chichester, as an example of -the smaller. - -When the bishop-stool of the South Saxons was removed after the Norman -Conquest from Selsey to Chichester, Earl Roger of Montgomery gave the -south-west quarter of the city, including a portion of the old Roman walls -which protected it, for a site for the cathedral. A nunnery with a church -dedicated to St. Peter already existed on the site; the nuns were -transferred elsewhere, and the church used as the germ of the cathedral -church.[387] Bishop Stigand built a new church of timber, which was soon -replaced. The able and energetic Bishop Ralph Luffa was the real founder -of the present cathedral. His church was of the normal Norman plan, a -cross church with a low central tower and two west towers, all of massive -construction, plain almost to sternness. It was in the thirteenth century -that, among other great additions to the church, the central tower was -raised by the addition of another story; and not till the fifteenth -century that the lofty and graceful spire was added which was the peculiar -glory of Chichester. - -The constitution of the cathedral was in the main the same as at Lincoln, -the bishop, dean, precentor, chancellor, and treasurer, with twenty-eight -prebendaries, twelve vicars choral, etc., and two archdeacons. - -The information given us in the "Taxatio" of the finances of the diocese -in 1291 is scanty:-- - - The temporalities[388] of the bishop were valued at 462 4_s._ - 6-3/4_d._ - - The dean and chapter had estates, appropriate rectories, portions, - pensions, etc., which brought in a clear income of 310 14_s._ - 6-1/2_d._ - - The dignities of the cathedral are given as follows:-- - - The deanery with a prebend, 53 6_s._ 8_d._ - - The chantry, 53 6_s._ 8_d._ - - The chancellor with the Rectory of Chiddingly, 53 6_s._ 8_d._ - - The treasurer, _per se_ 46 13_s._ 4_d._ - - Then came twenty-eight other prebends, ranging from 4 13_s._ 4_d._ to - 40, making up the total income of the dignitaries and prebendaries to - 706 13_s._ 4_d._ - -When we turn to the "Valor" (vol. i. p. 293), we find fuller details of -the condition of things at the end of the fifteenth century. "The annual -value of all and singular, the houses, castles, domains, manors, lands, -and tenements, and other temporal possessions whatsoever, and also of the -tithes, oblations, pensions, portions, and other spiritual profits -whatsoever, of the Reverend Father in Christ, Robert, Bishop of -Chichester," amounted to spiritualities, 138 17_s._ 9_d._; -temporalities,[389] 589 10_s._ 2_d._; or, after certain allowed -deductions, to a clear total of 677 1_s._ 3_d._ - -The income of the dean and chapter has grown to 310 14_s._ 6-1/2_d._; we -have no note of the way in which it was disposed of. - - The income of the dean, William Fleshmonger, was 58 9_s._ 4_d._ We - have no reason to doubt that he was identical with the William - Fleshmonger who was Rector of Selsey,[390] worth 11 3_s._ 4_d._; with - the Dr. William Fleshmonger who was Rector of Storyngton,[391] 18; - and with the William Fleshmonger who was Rector of Hertfield,[392] 7. - No doubt it was the dean who was the tenant by indenture for a term of - years from Battle Abbey, at a rent of 15 6_s._ 8_d._, of the Manor of - Apultram[393] near Chichester, and in all probability he is identical - with the William Fleshmonger who held the Prebend of Carlton cum - Dalby[394] of the Church of Lincoln. - - The Dignity of the Precentory had endowment to the amount of 35 0_s._ - 5-1/2_d._, and Charles William Horsey seems to have had no other - preferment in Chichester Diocese. But among the Prebendaries of - Lincoln there is also a William Horsey, Prebendary of Scamelsby,[395] - who may very possibly have been identical with our Precentor. - - The Dignity of Chancellor was endowed with a clear 27 7_s._, and we - find that Mr. George Croft was also Prebendary of Middleton,[396] - worth 2 3_s._ 4_d._ There was also a George Croft, Rector of - Wynford,[397] 21 12_s._ 10_d._, in the diocese of Bath and Wells, who - may have been our chancellor. - - The treasurer, Hugho Rolfe, after paying two servants and other dues, - had a clear 62 6_s._ 8_d._ from the dignity, and held besides the - Prebend of Braklesham,[398] 11 17_s._ 3-1/2_d._, and apparently the - vicarage of Henfield,[399] 16 9_s._ 9-1/2_d._ - - * * * * * - - The dignity of the Archdeaconry of Chichester was worth 38 3_s._ - 4_d._, and the Archdeacon John Worthial also held the Prebend of Huve - Town,[400] 10; he seems also to have held the benefice of Sutton, 15 - 0_s._ 6_d._;[401] but we hesitate to identify the venerable archdeacon - with the William Worthiall who held the two Chantries of Eastangmering - and Fyrring,[402] though no doubt his friends would often jestingly - assure him that if he had half a dozen more sinecures he would still - have been "worthy all." The Archdeaconry of Lewes was worth 39 14_s._ - 10_d._, and Archdeacon More was also Prebendary of Coleworth,[403] 18 - 13_s._ 4_d._, and is probably identical with the Edward More who was - Vicar of Bexhill,[404] worth 23 10_s._ 2_d._ There were altogether - thirty-one prebends ranging in value from 10 to 20; four of these - were added by Bishop Sherborne a little before the Reformation, - restricted to men of Winchester and New Colleges, who were required to - serve in their own persons without deputies. - -Residentiaries on first appointment to office were bound to attend every -service without a single omission for a year, and in case of an omission -to recommence their course. - - There were twelve vicars choral who received 2 12_s._ 8_d._ each, and - fourteen chantries which were served by the vicars choral, the profits - of each ranging between 3 and 13. There were also eight choristers - and four thuribulers.[405] - -"Bishop Sherborne, just before the Reformation, having ruled -magnificently, laid down his staff and mitre weary with the weight of -ninety years and more, and left his statutes chained to his throne; -begging the kindly thoughts of all sorts and conditions of men; with a -bequest of crown soleil, and bread and good wine to be offered to the -bishop at his 'jocund coming' on a visitation; ypocras and choice fruits -for the crowned king and primate; wine to be drunk round the city cross -for the young; ample doles for the aged; marriage portions out of the -annual residue for poor girls; egg flip with milk and sugar, coloured with -saffron, for the choristers; and a dinner to the chapter on his -anniversary."[406] - - * * * * * - -There are some examples in England of that annexation of temporal rule to -certain episcopal sees, of which the independent prince bishops of Germany -are instances still more illustrious, and the Bishop of Rome the most -remarkable. The _Bishops of Durham_ were the temporal rulers of the -district of country between the Tees and the Tyne, and almost independent -of the king; while the men of "the bishopric," as it was called in a -special sense, were the servants of St. Cuthbert, and subject to none but -Cuthbert's successor. This privilege arose from a gift of the district to -St. Cuthbert and his successors by King Guthred in the year 883. The -_Bishops of Winchester_ were anciently reputed to be Earls of Southampton, -and possessed a certain temporal authority, the origin of which is not -known to the writer. The _Bishop of Ely_ was in ancient times supreme in -the Isle, which was, if not a county palatine, at least a royal franchise, -with courts and exclusive jurisdiction of its own; of which traces remain -in the existing arrangements, in that it has no Lord-Lieutenant, and is in -every way distinct from the rest of the county in which it is situated. It -is reasonable to suppose that the bishop (created in 1108) derived this -authority as the successor of the abbots, who received it as the -representatives of Queen Etheldreda, the founder, in continuance of -privileges conferred on the queen when King Tondbert gave the Isle to her -in dower. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -MONKS AND FRIARS. - - -We have only to deal here with the relations of the religious houses with -the clergy, and their influence upon the general religious life of clergy -and people. - -First of all, the monasteries kept before the minds both of parish priests -and of their people the ideal of an unambitious, self-denying, studious, -meditative, religious life. No doubt many of the monks and nuns fell short -of their own ideal, and there were occasional scandals; we find notices in -the registers of the bishops of their intervention in such cases. But the -lives of the majority were sufficiently respectable to maintain the credit -of the institution, and there were always some whose lives were exemplary. -We may produce an evidence of the general feeling on the subject from the -report of the commissioners of Henry VIII., who were sent to inquire into -the state of the smaller monasteries, with a view to their suppression. -The report stated that there were all sorts of abuses and scandals in the -smaller houses, and recommended that they should be suppressed, and that -their inhabitants should be transferred to "the great solemn monasteries -of this realm, wherein--thanks be to God--religion is right well kept and -observed." As to their report against the smaller houses; they had been -employed on purpose to make out a case against them, and the world has -long since come to the conclusion that their adverse testimony is not to -be believed. - -If we are right in these enlightened days in thinking that fine public -buildings for the housing of parliaments, municipal corporations, and the -like civil institutions of the nation tend to give dignity to the national -life; and that galleries of sculpture and painting, and museums of art, -exercise an elevating influence on the popular mind; it can hardly be -denied that the religious houses, with their stately groups of buildings, -their sublime churches, and the numerous beautiful works of sculpture, -painting, embroidery, and goldsmiths' work which they contained, must have -had a similar influence upon the religious sentiment and the sthetic -education of the people. A medival town was greatly the richer, -religiously and intellectually, for having a great monastery in its -suburb. The half-dozen religious houses--great and small--in a rural -county had a religious, civilizing, elevating influence over the whole -country-side. Even their empty ruins have not lost all their influence. -The stately relics of the Yorkshire abbeys give added interest and dignity -to the great northern county. What would the Isle of Ely be without the -solemn grandeur of its cathedral church? - -There is not enough left of any one of our own monasteries to enable the -visitor to its mournful ruins to realize how each was a little town, -protected by its walls and gate towers; with the roofs and chimneys of its -numerous domestic buildings, and the trees of its gardens and orchards -appearing over the walls; and the towers of its great church forming the -centre of the architectural group, as it was the centre of the life of the -inhabitants. We have, therefore, borrowed an illustration from Clugny, the -parent and prototype of the houses of the Reformed Benedictine Orders. - - * * * * * - -The "Religious" and the upper classes of society were more in touch than -at first sight appears. The great families kept up friendly relations[407] -with the houses which their ancestors had founded, of which they were -still the patrons, and from time to time benefactors. People of the upper -classes, in travelling, usually sought hospitality at the religious -houses, and were entertained by the abbot, while their people were cared -for in the guest house. The monks and nuns were largely taken from these -classes. - -[Illustration: Abbey of Cluny, as it was.] - -Throughout the Middle Ages the monks--especially the -Benedictines--continued to cultivate learning, both secular and religious. -The chroniclers of the greater monasteries were the only historians of the -time, and their collections of books were the libraries of the nation. -Some of the great monasteries served the purpose of the great public -schools of modern times, and the nunneries especially were--as they are -still in Continental countries--the schools of the daughters of the -gentry. - -Long after they had ceased to be the pioneers leading the way in reducing -the waste lands under cultivation, the monks continued to set an example -to the lay gentry and landowners in enterprising scientific agriculture -and horticulture; and in the refinement of domestic economy they were ages -ahead of the rest of the community; they utilized streams for water power, -for irrigation, and for sanitation; they sought out pure water for -domestic use, and brought it long distances by conduits. The Church, -regular and secular, was a liberal landlord. Not a few of its tenants, -seated generation after generation on its manors, grew into knightly and -noble families. - -The monasteries exercised a most important direct influence upon the -parochial clergy and their people owing to the fact that they were the -patrons of a large proportion of the parishes; and nominated the vicars -who were to teach and minister to the people of those parishes. In many -cases where a monastery adjoined a town, the convent had the patronage of -all the vicarages in the town in its hands; and their bias would lead them -to appoint men of a "religious" tone of character. - -That the monks were not unpopular is proved by two facts. First, that the -House of Commons only passed the first Act of Suppression of the smaller -houses under the coercion of the king's personal threats; and, secondly, -that the suppression was so resented by the people that in several parts -of the country the people rose in armed rebellion against it. - -But we must be content to indicate thus briefly that the monastic -institution in many ways exercised a powerful influence upon the national -life and religion. - - * * * * * - -The Mendicant Orders require a more lengthened consideration, for they -were founded as an auxiliary to the ancient diocesan and parochial -institution, in direct pastoral ministrations to the people, and played an -important part in the religious life of the nation. - -In the thirteenth century--as again in our day--the increasing population -had grown too great for the agricultural needs of the country, and the -surplus population had flocked into the towns. The result then, as now, -was overcrowding, the building of unhealthy houses in the suburbs, -poverty, dirt, and disease; and, as a consequence, ignorance and -irreligion. Leprosy, brought probably from the East by the returning -Crusaders, had become permanent and widely spread among all ranks and -classes.[408] At the same time a wave of wild opinions, political and -religious, was sweeping across Europe which reached this island almost a -century later under the name of Lollardism, and created disaffection in -Church and State. - -The intellectual disorder excited the zeal of the Spanish canon, Dominic, -who organized an order of preaching friars, to go about teaching the truth -and contending against dangerous error. About the same time the heart of -Francis, a citizen of Amalfi, was fired with compassion for the misery of -the poor and sick, and he organized an order of brothers, whose duty it -was to minister to suffering humanity. Both orders speedily became very -popular, and spread over Europe. The Dominicans introduced themselves into -England at Oxford, in 1221, and were patronized by Archbishop Stephen -Langton. The first Franciscans came three years afterwards to Canterbury; -and both orders spread as rapidly here as in the other countries of -Europe. - -[Illustration: A Semi-choir of Franciscan Friars. (Fourteenth century MS. -in British Museum. Domitian, A. 17.)] - -The organization of both orders ran on the same lines. Each was an -ecclesiastical army. Each had a general of the order residing in Rome, -under the special protection and correction of one of the cardinals. Under -the general was a provincial in each country into which the order -extended. The houses of the order in each country were gathered into -groups, called by the Dominicans, "Visitations," and by the Franciscans, -"Custodies." The English province of the Franciscans was divided into -seven custodies or wardenships, each including eight or nine -convents,[409] and comprising most of the great towns. The Dominicans had -fifty-eight convents here; the Franciscans 75. The officers were all -elected at a chapter, were required to resign at the ensuing chapter, and -might be removed at any time for insufficiency or misconduct. - -The Carmelite Friars had their origin in the East, and were introduced -into England by Sir John de Vesey, on his return from the Crusade in the -early part of the thirteenth century. It had ultimately about five houses -in England. The Austin Friars, founded about the middle of the century, -had about forty-five houses here. These make up the four orders, Black, -Grey, White, and Austin. All smaller foundations were suppressed or -included in the Austins, by the Council of Lyons, in 1370. - -The great difference between the monks and the friars was that the ideal -of the monastic life was seclusion from the world for prayer and -meditation with a view to the cultivation of one's own soul; that of the -friar's life was devotion to active work. The great economical difference -was that the monks were individually vowed to poverty, but as communities -they were wealthy, while the friars were vowed to have no property -individually or collectively, and to live of the alms of the people. - -At first the friars were very successful in England, as elsewhere. Bishops -like Stephen Langton and Grostete patronized them. Before long members of -the mendicant orders became themselves bishops and archbishops. They sent -their young men to the universities, and cultivated learning so -successfully that they soon became the most famous teachers in the -universities of Europe. Among the people generally they effected a great -revival of religion, which Sir J. Stephen compares with the revival in -more modern times effected by the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield. - -The friaries were always founded in, or in the suburbs of, the larger -towns, for their mission was to the masses of the people. But they had a -system of itineration, which seems to have divided the country into -districts, and sent the friars two and two, visiting not only the villages -but the houses of the gentry and farmers. This brought the friars into -rivalry with the parish priests. In the towns the Dominicans often built a -large church, planned so as to form an auditorium, and attracted large -congregations by their popular preaching. The friars laid themselves out -also for special services, which would attract the sluggish and popularize -religion, such as miracle plays and the observance of special festivals. -In the villages the itinerant friar preached in the church or churchyard, -and heard the confessions of those who chose to come to him; and there -were many who preferred to confess their misdoings to a comparative -stranger, who did not live among them, rather than to their parish priest. - -So says Chaucer-- - - He had power of confession, - As said himself, more than a curate, - For of his order he was licentiate. - Full sweetly heard he confession, - And pleasant was his absolution. - He was an easy man to give penance - There as he wist to have a good pittance, - For unto a poor order for to give - Is sign that a man is well yshrive. - "Prologue to the Canterbury Tales." - -Both in town and country they offered the fraternity of their convent to -benefactors, with its prayers for their good estate while living, and -sought to have masses for the dead entrusted to them on the ground that a -convent of friars would pray them out of purgatory ten times as soon as a -single parish priest. - - "Thomas, Thomas, so might I ride or go, - And by that lord that cleped is St. Ive, - N'ere[410] thou our brother shouldest thou not thrive. - In our chapter pray we day and night - To Christ that he here send hele and might[411] - Thy body for to welden hastilee." - -The rustic roughly answers-- - - "God wot, quoth he, I nothing thereof feel, - So help me Christ as I in fewe years - Have spended upon divers manner freres - Full many a pound, yet fare I never the bet." - "Ye sayn me thus how that I am your brother. - Ye, certes, quod the friar, trusteth wee, - I took our dame the letter under our sel."[412] - Chaucer, "The Sompnour's Tale." - -So "Piers Plowman" says-- - - "I am Wrath, quod he, I was sum tyme a frere - And the convent's gardyner for to graff impes - On limitours and lesyngs I imped - Till they bere leaves of low speech lordes to please, - And sithen they blossomed abrode in bower to hear shrifts. - And now is fallen thereof a fruite, that folk have well liever - Shewen ther shriftes to hem than shryve them to their parsons. - And now parsons have percyved that freres part with them, - These possessioners preache and deprave freres, - And freres find them in default, as folk beareth witness." - -Bonaventure, when General of the Franciscans, in a letter to one of his -provincials, expresses great dissatisfaction with those of the brethren -who, contrary to the rule of Francis, assault the clergy in their sermons -before the laity, and only sow scandal, strife, and hatred, and with those -who injure the parish priests by monopolizing to themselves the burial of -the dead and the drawing up of wills, thereby making the whole Order -detested by the clergy. But he complains of the injustice done by accusing -the whole of what was the fault only of a few--"the scum floats on the -surface, and is noticed by every one."[413] It was rather hard, perhaps, -on the parish priest, that he should not only be obliged to submit to the -intrusion of the friar, but should be expected to offer hospitality to the -intruder, and make much of him, as a constitution of Archbishop Peckham -desires him to do.[414] - -It is the popular belief that the friars, after having in the first burst -of their enthusiasm effected a great revival of religion, very soon -departed from the principles of their founders, became useless, if not -mischievous, and fell into universal disfavour. There is no denying that -the splendid enthusiasm of their first institution cooled down, and the -wonderful revival of popular religion which it brought about seemed to die -out; it is the inevitable course of all such revivals; but it left good -perennial results behind. - -The burgesses of the towns in which the friaries were situated seem to -have regarded them as useful workers among the poor. In many of the towns -the civic authorities consented to hold the site and buildings of the -friaries in trust, in order to evade the rule which forbade the orders -themselves to hold property. The friars continued to live, and their -continuance depended upon the daily voluntary alms of the townspeople. The -churches of the friars were favourite places for civic functions and -miracle plays; the people sought burial in their precincts; and down to -the very eve of their dissolution a great number of wills, both of clergy -and laity, contain small bequests to the friars. Perhaps the most striking -evidence in their favour at the very end of their existence in England is -that Edward IV. was a great patron of the Observants (the strictest -section of the Franciscans); Henry VII. founded six convents of them; and -Henry VIII. took one of them as his confessor. It is a fact which tells in -their favour that they had not grown wealthy. When the dissolution came, -the jackals of Henry VIII. found nothing but the houses and their -precincts, usually in a poor neighbourhood, and their churches. Their -income is commonly returned at 20_s._ to 40_s._, and the total value of -the property, when the prior's house and the garden and orchard and the -whole convent was let out on rent, was seldom over 10 a year.[415] - -The truth seems to be that the friars continued to be the most popular -preachers, and to carry on a steady work among the poor of the towns. But, -strongly papal in sentiment, their constitution made them an organized -propaganda of any ideas which the cardinal protectors and generals of the -orders residing in Rome suggested to the provincials in the several -nations, they to the wardens of the districts, they to the priors of the -houses, they to their individual friars, and they through the streets of -the city and the length and breadth of the land. It was, perhaps, their -political opposition to Henry VIII. more than any other cause of offence -or dereliction of duty, which provoked their overthrow. - -The two chief faults of the system were the principle of mendicancy and -the exemption from episcopal control. It is worth while to study the -institution carefully, for something of the same kind--brotherhoods of -educated and trained men, who are content to abandon the world's -ambitions, to live among the poor, to preach the gospel in a popular way, -and to minister to the temporal sufferings of the people--is exactly what -is wanted to produce a new revival among the masses of the people; and we -need to ascertain the secrets of the friars' strength and of their -weakness. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -THE "TAXATIO" OF POPE NICHOLAS IV. - - -In the thirteenth century the popes assumed the right, as feudal lords -over the Church, to demand from every church benefice a fine of its first -year's income from every new incumbent, and an annual tax of one-tenth of -its income. The Saxon kings had made the Church lands exempt from state -imposts;[416] but now kings very naturally began to think that the -necessities of the State had as good a claim as those of the pope; and -there ensued a certain amount of friction. The popes, with very astute -policy, reconciled the kings to the tax by sometimes ceding the proceeds -of it to them. Thus in 1253, Pope Innocent IV. gave the tenths to King -Henry III. for three years, which occasioned a taxation or valuation to be -made in the following year, sometimes called the Norwich Taxation, -sometimes Pope Innocent's Valor. - -Again, in 1288, Pope Nicholas IV. gave the tenths to King Edward I. for -six years, towards an expedition to the Holy Land; that they might be -fully collected a new taxation was made by the king's precept, which was -begun in that year and finished in the province of Canterbury in 1291, and -in the province of York in 1292.[417] This taxation continued to be the -basis of all assessments upon the Church down to the time of the -Reformation. - -The survey takes each diocese by itself, each archdeaconry of the diocese, -each rural deanery, and, finally, each benefice. Here is a specimen, -selected because it is a deanery of which the writer has some personal -knowledge. - -SPIRITUALIA ARCHIDIACONATUS ESSEXI. DECANATUS DE BERDESTAPLE. - - _s._ _d._ - - Ecclia de Thurrok pva 5 6 8 - Porco Rectoris de Westurrok ibidem 0 6 6 - Ecclia de Oresith 16 0 0 - Porcio Cancellarii Sci Pauli Lond' ibidem 6 0 0 - Porcio Magri Johis de Sco Claro ibidem 2 0 0 - Porcio Prioris de Pritelwell in North Beniflete 1 6 8 - Porcio Abbis Westm. ibidem 0 13 4 - Porcio Decani Sci Martini London' ibm 0 10 0 - Ecclia de Westilleby 13 16 8 - Ecclia de Estilleby 14 13 4 - Ecclia de Hornyngdone 12 0 0 - Vicar' ejusdem 4 13 4 - Porcio Abbis Colcestr' ibidem 2 0 0 - Porcio Prioris de Beremondes' ibidem 1 13 4 - Ecclia de Mockyng 14 13 4 - Porcio Abbisse de Berkyngg ibidem 2 0 0 - Ecclia de Stanford 16 0 0 - Pensio Abbis de Bileye in Langedon 2 0 0 - Ecclia de Bulephen 13 6 8 - Ecclia de Coringham 8 0 0 - Porcio Prioris de P'telewell in Wikford 2 13 4 - Porcio ejusdem Prioris in Thunderle 1 4 0 - Ecclia de Bures 6 13 4 - Ecclia de Bourgsted 13 6 8 - Ecclia de Leyndon 13 6 8 - Ecclia de Fobbing 10 0 0 - Ecclesia de Chaldewell 5 6 8 - Ecclia de Magna Bemfleth 6 13 0 - Porcio Abbatis Colcestr' in Ecclia de Picher' - cu' penc' sua in eadem 1 6 8 - Ecclia Dontone 5 6 8 - Pensio Prioris de Okebourn ibidem 2 13 4 - Ecclia de Burgsted pva 4 13 4 - Ecclia de Hoton 9 6 8 - Penc' Abbis de Bello ibidem 0 5 0 - Ecclia de Shenefeud 10 0 0 - Ecclia de Duddynggeherst 8 0 0 - Ecclia de Gingg Rad'i 6 13 4 - Ecclia de Ramesden Cray 5 6 8 - Ecclia de Ramesden Belhous 6 13 4 - Ecclia de Dounham 5 6 8 - Ecclia de Fangge 6 13 4 - Sm{a} 268 14_s._ 10_d._ - - In the list of smaller benefices we find also belonging to this deanery-- - - Vicar' de Tilleby magna 2 0 0 - Ecclia de Parva Benifleth 1 13 4 - Ecclia de Wykford 2 6 8 - Ecclia de Thunderle 1 10 0 - Ecclia de Thorndon magna 1 13 4 - -From the list of _temporalia_ in the same deanery we find that the -following--the Abbots of Coggeshall, Stratford, St. Osyth, Colchester, -Battle, Westminster, Byleigh, the Abbess of Barking, the Priors of Thoby, -Prittlewell, Okeburn, Bermondsey, Leigh, Buttele,[418] Kereseye, the -Chapter of St. Paul's, and the Chapter of St. Martin's, London, had income -in land, rent, marsh, young of animals, mills, fallen wood, from the -following places: Langedon, Thorndon magna, Bursted parva, Ging Rudulphi, -Thorndon, Thorndon parva, Tillebery parva, Duddyngeherst, Stornyngdon, -Donton, Doneham, Westlee, Horton, Wykford, Bournstead (Bursted) magna, -Bulewephen, Fanga (Vange), Leydon, Mocrkyngge, Bowers, Benifleth parva, -Chaldwell, Shenefeud, Piches [in a footnote Picheseye = Pitsey], Raumesden -Cray, Rammesden Belhous, Felbingge, Thurrock parva, Thonderle, Bemfleth -magna. - -Every "Ecclesia" in the list gives the name of a parish, and where the -word occurs it implies that the parish was a rectory. Where it is followed -by _Vicaria ejusdem_--the vicarage of the same--it implies that the -rectory had been appropriated to some religious house, which had founded a -vicarage therein; in this particular deanery there is only one vicarage; -but it is very possible, for anything which appears, that some of the -Ecclesi may have been appropriated to a religious house, which was -technically the rector possessing all spiritual and temporal rights in the -church and parish, and serving the cure by one of its own members, or by a -stipendiary priest. - -Even where the benefice had not been appropriated to a religious house, it -often happened that some "portion" of the profits of the benefice--_e.g._ -of the tithe or of some part of the land--had been appropriated; or that a -definite annual payment, "pension," had been assigned out of the -benefice. Thus, under "Ecclesia de Oresith," the rectory of Orsett, -appears quite a list of "portions," viz. of the Chancellor of St. Paul's, -of Mr. John of St. Clair, of the Prior of Prittlewell, of the Abbot of -Westminster, of the Dean of St. Martin, London; the Abbot of Bileigh had a -"pension" out of the rectory of Stanford, the Prior of Oakburn out of -Dunton, the Abbot of Battle out of Hutton. There are two ways of -explaining this. One is the way of the enemy of the religious houses, -whose cynical explanation is that the monks had their spoon in everybody's -porridge--the Rector of Orsett had half a dozen spoons clattering together -in his dish. The other explanation is that of the friend of the religious -houses: that they were held in such general admiration, that lords of -manors and patrons of parochial benefices who could not do more, at least -made small appropriations to them out of their patronage, in token of good -will, and in order to secure a permanent interest in the friendship and -prayers of the Religious. With these explanations of the list of benefices -of the deanery of Barstaple, we leave it for the present, proposing to -make it the text of further exposition hereafter.[419] - - * * * * * - -In studying this medival clergy-list, the first thought which occurs to -every one is to count the parishes and ascertain the total. Allowing for -difficulties which tend to a few omissions, or the counting of a few -names over again, it may be depended upon that the number of parishes was -about 8085; that out of those which had been appropriated to religious -bodies vicarages had been endowed in about 1487, the 457 chapels had -probably some endowment, besides the chapels-of-ease, dependent on the -incumbent of the parish. Adding the parish churches and chapels together, -we get a total of 8542 endowed places of public worship and centres of -pastoral care.[420] - - Vicarages Ecclesi not - founded exceeding Vicarages - Ecclesi. in them. Chapels. 10 marks. ditto. - - Canterbury 221 58 15 47 28 - Rochester 108 31 0 50 39 - London 459 86 13 150 33 - Lincoln 1738 353 76 467 279 - Norwich 1165 80 17 354 35 - Chichester 286 112 3 91 81 - Exeter 529 139 49 344 158 - Hereford 291 94 48 155 82 - Sarum 493 104 50 222 80 - Bath and Wells 262 42 19 113 29 - Winton 338 53 41 84 34 - Worcester 335 34 60 136 26 - Coventry and Lichfield 382 28 27 154 27 - Ely 135 37 3 15 35 - St. David's 223 0 4 124 0 - Llandaff 131 9 9 72 6 - St. Asaph's 109 63 13 47 55 - Bangor 34 0 1 26 1 - York 625 113 4 93 61 - Durham 117 43 4 15 25 - Carlisle 94 25 1 2 14 - ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- - 8085 1487 457 2711 1125 - 457 1125 - ---- ---- - 8542 3836 - -The next question which naturally excites interest is the incomes of the -benefices, by which the services of the medival parish clergy were -remunerated. The general idea is that the medival clergy were richly -endowed. The truth which is revealed by the figures of this official -document is that, when we take away the livings assigned by their patrons -as the prebends of cathedrals, and those appropriated to religious houses, -the benefices of the "working clergy," the rectors and vicars, were mostly -of small value. - -Before we go into a detailed examination of them, it is desirable to make -two preliminary remarks. The first is as to the value of money at that -period. The question will be more fully considered in the next chapter in -connection with the new valuation which was made in the time of Henry -VIII., but it will be convenient to anticipate here the estimate there -accepted that the purchasing power of money at the end of the thirteenth -century was about twenty-four times as great as now, so that a pound was -then equivalent to about 24 now. The other remark is in reply to the -question which will naturally arise in every reader's mind: were not the -benefices much undervalued? On the contrary, it was the object of pope and -king to estimate them as highly as possible, so as to increase the amount -of the tenth to be demanded from them. Every source of income was taken -into the account; and the general complaint at the time was that they were -overestimated. - -Turning now to a little study of the value of the ordinary parochial -benefices, the writer has shrunk from the laborious task of anything like -a complete analysis; for a few general facts are sufficient for the -present purpose. First of all, many of the benefices were so small that -both pope and king[421] were ashamed to demand a tenth of their poor -income; a limit of ten marks (= 6 13_s._ 4_d._) was fixed, and all -livings not over that sum were exempted. No wonder, when we reckon that -the present value of a benefice of ten marks would be about 160 a year. -But there were 2711 rectories and 1129 vicarages, making a total of 3840, -nearly half the number of parochial benefices under the limit of ten -marks. - -Looking at the better-endowed benefices: Canterbury was an exceptionally -rich diocese; out of its 279 benefices, there are 82 of ten marks and -under, only 80 above 20, and the richest living, a rare exception, is -133. In Rochester, with 139 benefices, 46 are less than ten marks, only -34 of 20 and upwards, and there are two "golden livings" of 60 each. In -Exeter diocese, out of 668 benefices, there are 189 of ten marks and -under, 15 of 20 and over, only one so large as 50. In Bath and Wells, -out of 304 parishes, there are 124 under ten marks; three of 50 and over, -and the highest is one of 60. In Carlisle, out of 24 parishes, there are -18 of ten marks and under; 42 of 20 and over; one of 90, and one of -120. The usual income of a vicarage was 5, a little more or less; there -are very few of greater value, up to 8 and 10. - -The conclusion is forced upon us by these official figures, that the -medival parish clergy were scantily endowed; one would wonder how, in -many cases, with such endowments, they could live, and maintain -hospitality to travellers, and help their poor, if one did not call to -mind that the majority of the clergy had not a wife and family to -maintain; that the rectors were mostly of the families of the gentry, and -many of the vicars probably of the middle class, and that--then, as -now--the majority of the beneficed clergy probably had some resources of -their own, and perhaps--then, as now--brought as much into the church of -their own as they took out of it in their annual profits. - -A contemporary copy of the taxation of the Diocese of Exeter gives on the -end page a summary of the tenths for the whole kingdom-- - - _s._ _d._ - Sum of the tenth of the Province of Canterbury 16,258 18 4 - Sum of the tenth of the Province of York 4,155 10 7 - ------------------- - Sum total of both provinces 20,414 8 11 - ------------------- - Which, multiplied by ten, will give the total - value taxed 204,144 9 2 - -The Bishop of Oxford, "as the result of a painful calculation from the -'Taxatio,'" arrives at the following conclusion:-- - -Spirituals, 135,665; temporals, 74,978; total, 210,644; and the -temporals of the bishops included in the total amount of temporals was -16,826. - -Of the number of the clergy nearly a century later we have an exact -official return. In the year 1377 a poll-tax was levied on the whole body -of the clergy of England and Wales, excepting those of the counties -Palatine of Durham and Chester, of twelve-pence on "every beneficed -ecclesiastic, exempt and not exempt, privileged and not privileged, and -all abbots, priors, abbesses, prioresses, monks, canons, canonesses, and -other regulars of whatever order, sex, and condition, the four orders of -mendicants alone excepted;" and fourpence on "every priest, deacon, -sub-deacon, accolite, and those obtaining the first tonsure exceeding the -age of fourteen years." - -The total number of men given in the returns is 15,238 beneficed, and -13,943 unbeneficed. If we suppose the number in the excepted counties of -Durham and Chester to have been in the same proportion, we should have a -total for the whole of England (Wales is not included in the return) of -about 15,800 beneficed, and 14,000 unbeneficed, and a total of about -29,800. From the same return we gather that the whole population of the -country at that time was about 2,065,000.[422] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE "VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS" OF HENRY VIII. - - -It is convenient to take into consideration here another survey of the -Church which was taken about two centuries later. - -When Crown, Parliament, and Church, in the sixteenth century, determined -to throw off the patriarchal supremacy of Rome, for which its monstrous -pecuniary exactions in one shape and another was one prominent motive, the -clergy no doubt fondly expected that they would get rid for ever of the -burden of first-fruits and tenths, but found themselves grievously -disappointed. One of the political motives of the king in the complex -series of events which we sum up under the general name of the -Reformation, was the diminution of the power and wealth of the Church. The -property of the monasteries, which he confiscated, the manors of the sees, -which he compelled the bishops to surrender, did not suffice him. A -subservient Parliament, passing one Act in 1532 and another in 1534, put -the first-fruits and tenths into his hands. It was a considerable -addition to the royal revenue, and the king took measures to secure the -full advantage of it. A commission was appointed to make a new survey of -the income of the Church. The commissioners by themselves and their agents -went carefully through every diocese, archdeaconry, rural deanery and -parish, and required every person to state on oath what was the income -which he derived from his benefice from every source. The returns were -sent in by 1534. - -The result, so far as it concerns us here, was a return of the condition -of the Church at the close of the medival period of great historical -value. The returns are not given with the same fulness from every diocese, -but where they are given fully they give not only the general return of -the value of each benefice, but also the names of the clergy and in -several dioceses a schedule of the sources of their income.[423] - -The first thing to which attention is naturally directed is the number of -parishes, and a comparison with the number in the "Taxatio" two centuries -before. The enumeration is not free from difficulties, but the figures -given may be taken as approximately correct. - -We make out that the totals are as follows:--Total number of parishes, -8838; of vicarages, 3307; of chapels, 536; of chantries, 1733.[424] - -Comparing these figures with those of the "Taxatio," it will be seen that -the total number of parishes had increased very little in the interval, -though the population of the country had increased from about 2,200,000 to -about 4,350,000 souls. - -This may be accounted for partly by the fact that the growth of population -had caused the creation of few new centres of population, but only the -increase of the populations of the existing centres. There were very few, -if any, new towns or new parishes in the towns, but the old towns had -grown larger; there were few new rural parishes, but the villages had a -larger population; so that there was little increase in the number of -parish priests, but each priest ministered to a larger flock; where new -centres of population had sprung up, their wants were supplied by a chapel -and its chaplain. The increase in the means of supplying the spiritual -wants of the increased population had taken the form of the employment of -Domestic Chaplains and Gild Chaplains, and the foundation of Chantries, -which we shall have to deal with in subsequent chapters. - -The next question to which we turn is the income of the Church as a whole, -and of the parochial benefices in particular, and a comparison in this -respect also between the "Taxatio" and the "Valor." - -The ostentation of minute accuracy on the part of the taxers is almost -ludicrous, the princely income of the Bishop of Lincoln is returned at -1962 17_s._ 4-1/2_d._ In dividing a sum of money among the minor canons -of that cathedral, the accountant points out that a farthing remained -over, which was indivisible; and in dividing the gross income of the -benefices by ten, it was constantly recorded that there was a remainder of -so much, which was "undecimable." - -Very few new religious houses were founded after the thirteenth century; -the cause was not so much that the Statute of Mortmain interposed a check -to the free action of pious munificence, as that there was a general -recognition that enough had been done in this direction. The two thousand -chantries which had been founded in the two centuries probably did not -average 5 a year income, and did not swell the general income by so much -as 10,000 a year. The parochial benefices are seen, by actual comparison -of the figures, to have increased in nominal amount of income, but the -purchasing value of money had decreased, so that the real value of the -benefices was probably somewhat less. The produce of the annual tenths -would seem to indicate that the income of the Church had largely -diminished, for whereas we have seen that by the "Taxatio" of 1291 it -amounted to 20,000, we learn, from a letter of Henry VII., to the Bishop -of Chichester, that it had fallen by that time to 10,000; the Bishop of -Oxford[425] attributes this to the multiplication of exemptions, -especially of livings under ten marks. - -One valuable feature of the "Valor" is the schedules of incomings and -outgoings of the livings, and the incidental notices contained in them, -which give glimpses of the economy of the parishes. - -We give first one example, which is expressed in English, at full length, -as a clue to the meaning of the more abbreviated form in which some others -are given. - -From the "Valor Ecclesiasticus," vol. vi. p. 2:-- - - Compotus of Wm. Richardson "Vicegerent" of John Emott rector, of his - benefice of Brancaster in 1535. - - First in glebe land, x acr', by the yearly value of vj. - - Item in whet, xx cube [cumbes]. - - Item in myxteleyn, xl cube. - - Item in barley, xx cube. - - Item in pes, fetches, and oots (pease, vetches, and oats), xvj cube. - - Item in woll, xvj ston. - - Item in lambs, l. - - Item y{e} offering of iiij days, xxiiij_s._ - - Item in odyr offerings of other days, xx_s._ - - Item in lactage and p'vy (privy) tythes, xxxvj_s._ - - Item in hempe, hony, and waxe, iiij_s._ - - Item in pygyns, vj_s._ viij_d._ - - Item in gyse and chekyns, iij_s._ iiij_d._ - - Item in tythe piggs, iiij_s._ - - Item in eggys, iij_s._ - - Item in saffron, j li. - - Theys ben y{e} pcells y{e} wych y{e} sayd John Emott psun of Brancast' - aske y{e} allowance of - - _s._ _d._ - - Fyrst in porcions to the monasty of Ramsey xl - - Item to psun of Bebdale xxvj viij - - Item to sexton in y{e} monasty aforsaid xiij iiij - - Item in poxys (proxies) vij vijob. - - Item in sinage (elsewhere senage and synage, - vol. v. 182, probably payment at synods) ij - - William Richardson Curat' there affirms the said rectory to be of the - annual value altogether of:-- - - GALFUS WORLE Const' } _s._ _d._ - GILBTUS SMYTH } } Affirm _xxix_ _ii_ _xiob._ - RIC CLERK } Parishioners } as _xxvi_ _ii_ _xiob._ - JOHIS CRANE } } above. xxviij ix vijob. - -Here are some examples taken from various localities; first, a country -rural deanery:-- - - Deanery of Pershore. Diocese of Worcester. ("Valor," iii. p. 263.) - - Rectory of Kington, glebe, 3_s._ 4_d._; private tithe at Easter, - 10_s._; oblations on the 4 principal feasts, 2_s._ 8_d._; tithe of - corn and hay, 6 13_s._ 4_d._; various small tithes, 17_s._; total, 8 - 6_s._ 4_d._ - - R. of Broughton Hakett, tithe of corn and hay, 7 2_s._ 8_d._; lambs - and wool, 5_s._ 6_d._; other tithe, 11_s._ 6_d._; 4 days, 2_s._ 10_d._ - (no pasch.); total, 8 2_s._ 6_d._ - - Vicarage of Hymulton, glebe, 6_s._ 8_d._; tithe of hay, etc., 2 6_s._ - 0_d._; Easter, 42_s._ 2_d._; 4 days, 20_s._; pension from prior of W., - 53_s._ 4_d._; total, 8 8_s._ 10_d._ - - R. of Churchelenche, glebe, 32_s._ 4_d._; tithe, 5 14_s._ 11_d._; - Easter, 33_s._ 11_d._; 4 days, 13_s._ 6_d._; total, 9 14_s._ 8_d._ - - V. of Byshampton, glebe, 20_s._; tithe, 54_s._; pension, 40_s._; - Easter, 30_s._; 4 days, 13_s._ 4_d._; total, 7 17_s._ 4_d._ - - R. of Segebarowe, glebe, 30_s._; tithe, 15 11_s._ 6_d._; Easter, - 12_s._ 3-1/2_d._; 4 days, 6_s._ 3_d._; total, 15 0_s._ 0-1/2_d._ - - R. of Grafton Flyford, glebe, 66_s._; tithe, 16 14_s._ 5-1/2_d._; - Easter, 21_s._ 5_d._; 4 days, 7_s._ 7_d._; total, 20 10_s._ 5-1/2_d._ - -Next to take a town--Droitwich. - - Town of Wyche. ("Valor," vol. iii. p. 268.) - - Rectory of Whitton in the town of Wyche, glebe, 14_s._ 1_d._; tithe, - 75_s._ 8_d._; In libro compot pascal,[426] 8_s._ 8_d._; 4 days, 4_s._; - total, 5 2_s._ 5_d._ - - R. of St. Andrew in the town of Wyche, tithe, 19_s._ 6_d._; Easter, - 40_s._; 4 days, 14_s._; total, 3 13_s._ 6_d._ - - R. of St. Nicholas in the town of Wyche, tithe, 46_s._ 8_d._; Easter, - 33_s._ 4_d._; 4 days, 10_s._; total, 4 10_s._ - - Vicarage of St. Peter in the town of Wyche, tithe, 75_s._; Easter, - 40_s._; 4 days, etc., 1_s._; 6 7_s._ - - V. of Bromsgrove with chapel of Norton, in the town of Wyche, farm of - a garden, 2_s._; tithe, etc., 7 5_s._; Easter, 12; 4 days, 40_s._; - mortuaries, 1_s._; chapel tithe, 4; Easter, 16; total, 41 8_s._ - -It is worth while to note the proportion which the offerings bear to the -other sources of income, and to make a few notes upon them. We find the -customary offerings at the four seasons and at Easter, as enjoined in -Saxon times (see p. 71); only in some places, instead of the "oblationes -quatuor festorum," we find that the times had been reduced to three, as in -the rural deanery of Irchingfield, in the diocese of Hereford ("Valor," -iii. p. 19), where we find "oblationes ibidem III bus temporibus anni -usualibus"; or to two, as at Leeds, in the diocese of York, "oblationes -duo' dierum ibid' consuet'." The Easter offering was the more important; -it is spoken of in various ways, "Decima privata in Festo Pasch," "Decim -personali vocat Lenten Booke," "Decim personali voc' le Estre Booke," -"In libro Paschali," "In Rotulo Paschali," "In Rotulo -Quadragesimali,"[427] "Lent Decim," and "Oblationes in Pasch'." - -In settling the vicarages these fees were usually assigned to the vicar, -and in town parishes the appropriators often left the vicar very little -besides to live upon. We give a few examples taken at random in -illustration of these remarks:-- - - The Vicarage of Leeds, a house and garden valued at 15_s._ 8_d._; - tithes of lambs and wool, 13; Lent tithes and oblations in Pasch', - 26; oblations of two days _ibid' consuet'_, 4 10_s._; oblations - within the church, 4 6_s._ 8_d._; oblations of a chapel of the - Blessed Virgin Mary, 3_s._ 4_d._; total, 48 15_s._ 8_d._[428] - - The Vicarage of Sheffield, a house and garden valued at 10_s._; tithe - of wool and lambs, 36_s._; oblations, 6 18_s._; Easter Book, 4; - small tithe, 2_s._ 8_d._; total, 13 6_s._ 8_d._[429] - - The Vicarage of Huddersfield, house and garden, 3_s._ 4_d._; tithes of - wool, 60_s._; of lambs, 64_s._; oblations, 4 11_s._ 8_d._; small and - private tithe, 9 18_s._ 0-1/2_d._; total, 20 17_s._ 0-1/2_d._[430] - - The Church of Doncaster, at the end of the thirteenth century,[431] - was a rectory, held in two medieties; but in the course of the - following centuries both medieties had been appropriated to the Abbey - of St. Mary at York, which appointed a vicar. The vicar had a house - and garden, valued at 6_s._ 8_d._, and an annual pension from St. - Mary's, _in pecunia numerata_, of 33 6_s._ 8_d._[432] - - The income of the three churches in Nottingham--[433] - - St. Mary. Mansion and glebe, 30_s._; tithe of bread and ale, 26_s._ - 8_d._; tithe of wool and lambs, 4; tithe of geese, pigs, and fowls, - 20_s._; of fruits, 20_d._; in Easter tithes, 60_s._ In the whole, 10 - 18_s._ 4_d._ - - St. Peter. Mansion, 6_s._ 8_d._; personal tithes, 6 13_s._ 4_d._; - oblations, 26_s._ 8_d._; tithe of bread and ale, 13_s._ 4_d._; of - fowls and eggs, 14_d._; of pigs, 6_s._ 8_d._; of chrisom cloths in - _pannis crismalibus_,[434] 3_s._ 4_d._; oblations on the feast of the - Purification, 3_s._ In the whole, 9 14_s._ 2_d._ - - St. Nicholas. Mansion and garden, 8_s._; a house, 8_s._; oblations, - 13_s._ 4_d._; Easter tithes, 36_s._; tithe of bread and ale, 2_s._ - 6_d._; tithe of pigs, fowls, and geese, 6_s._; of fruits, 3_s._ 7_d._; - tithe of flax and hemp, 3_s._; eggs _et pannorum crismalium_, 3_s._ In - the whole, 4. - - Bingham Rectory. Mansion and land, 48_s._; three houses, 18_s._ 8_d._; - a pigeon-house, 13_s._ 4_d._; oblations of the three days, 20_s._; - Easter tithes, 46_s._ 8_d._; tithe of eggs, 3_s._; pigs and geese, - 20_s._; fowls, 3_s._; wool and lambs, 100_s._; hay, 20_s._; corn, 30; - flax and hemp, 5_s._ In the whole, 44 19_s._ 4_d._ - -Here follows a case in which the personal tithe, that is, the Easter -offering, due from each principal parishioner, is set forth in detail:-- - - Vicarage of Cowarne Magna gives Decimis psonalibus an{it} videlit de - Thoma Scull 6_s._, Johne ap Madoke 4_d._, and four others at 4_d._ - each; villat' de Locatt 8_s._ 7_d._, Villat' de Hopton 6_s._ 2_d._; - Villat' de Bache 3_s._ 1-1/2_d._ and five other villat, amounting to - 10 1_s._ 5_d._; oblations at the four accustomed times 14_s._ 8_d._; - Lez crysoms 12_d._ Candles offered in die Pur' Bte Marie; Denar' - oblat' cum pane benedicta 2_s._ 6_d._[435] - - The V. of Frome also mentions "lez crysoms" and offerings both at the - Cross at Easter and on the other Paschal days. - - R. of Estnor mentions "oblationes tam ad fontem benedict' 20_s._," and - ad crucem in die Parescheue 6_d._, quam al' oblacon' accustumat' - an{ti} 13_s._ 4_d._ unacum le bede roll' 16_d._ and debit' pascalibz - 23_s._ 4_d._[436] - - The Rector of Streteford[437] was indebted oblacionibus Ste Cosme et - Damiane, 40_s._ 5_d._ He probably had a relic of the Physician Saints - in his church, and the people resorted to it for cure of maladies. - -The compotus of the vicarage of Newark, Notts, is worth giving at full -length:-- - - The Vicar of Newark returns his income from "tiethe chekens, doves, - gowse, piggs, apples, peares, worth a yere xl{s} iij; offering daies, - viz. All Saynts' Daie, Xremas Daie, and the Sondaie nexte after the - feaste of Mary Magdaleyn, iiij{li} vi{s}; personall tithes at Eastor, - xxj{li}; offerings at m'iages, purificacons of women, buryalls, wi{t} - other casualties, iij{li} iv{s}.; total, 30 10_s._ Whereof to the - archebushopp of Yorke for synage, xvij{s} vi{d}; to the archedeacon of - Nottingham for procuracons, xvij{s} vi{d}; for waxe spent in the svice - time in the churche, xvj{s} ix{d}; for wyne the ole yere and at Eastor - spent in the churche, xvij{s} vi{d}; for oyle spent in the lampe in - the queyre day and night, ix{s}; for breade and franckingsence, ij{s} - viij{d}; for bell-strings, iiij{d}, and for the stipend of thone of - the parryshe preistes, v{li}. Total, 21 5_s._ 1_d._"[438] - -Some special sources of income which occur here and there are worth -notice:-- - - The Vicar of Leominster has the herbage of the cemeteries of the - church and chapels; the tithes of the bakers and taverners within the - borough. Mass pennies and candle oblations, and oblations for the - blessed bread on the Lord's days.[439] - -The case of Lenton, Notts, has also features of special interest. It was -appropriated to the Prior of Lenton:--[440] - - Richard Matthew, vicar there. Is worth for his house there, and with - an acre of land, by the year, 6_s._ 8_d._; for Easter tithes, 54_s._; - for offerings on the three days, 12_s._; for offerings at marriages, - churchings, and burials, one year with another, 5_s._; for oblations - on Sundays, 1-1/4_d._, amounting to 7_s._ 4_d._ a year; for a corrody - of bread and ale at the Priory of Lenton, every week 1_s._ 6_d._, - amounting to 78_s._ a year; and every day for food from the cook of - the said prior to the value of 1_d._, amounting to 30_s._ 5_d._ a - year; for tithe of wool and lambs, one year with another, 12_s._; for - pigs, geese, and fowls, 10_s._; for tithe of flax and hemp, 3_s._; for - tithe of fruits, one year with another, 12_s._; for grass and hay for - one horse, found by the said prior, 3_s._ 4_d._ a year; in the whole - 10 11_s._ 1-1/4_d._ Thence is paid annually to the said prior and his - successors for a certain pension, 28_s._ 8_d._ And there remains 9 - 2_s._ 6-1/4_d._ - -We began with a return from a curate in sole charge of the parish of an -absentee rector. Here is the case of a non-resident rector who lets his -benefice to farm:-- - - Tunstall, Kent. The certificate of Sir Symon Jenyns, parson there, - made by Symon Spacherst, his farmer:-- - - First, the same Symon Spacherst payeth to the said parson yearly 8. - Item paid to the priest for his wages, 6 13_s._ 4_d._, making 14 - 13_s._ 4_d._ Whereof deducted for proxies[441] yearly 5_s._, leaving - clear annual value, 14 8_s._ 4_d._ - -We take up now the question which was postponed from the preceding -chapter, of the value of money at various periods during the Middle Ages -compared with its value in our times, and especially at the period of the -"Taxatio," A.D. 1292, and at the period of the "Valor," A.D. 1534. The -comparative value of a given income at the two periods depends upon two -things: first, upon the purchasing power of a pound at the end of the -thirteenth century, and again at the middle of the sixteenth century -compared with the present day; and, second, upon the style of living at -the several periods. - -First, as to the comparative purchasing power, it is not an easy question -to determine. The late Mr. Thorold Rogers has given an immense mass of -data[442] for its determination, but he has not conferred upon students -the advantage of a table of comparative values for certain dates. In -default of this, we fall back upon other conclusions drawn from similar -collections of materials. Hallam, in his "History of Europe," arrives at -the conclusion that "we can hardly take a less multiple than about thirty -for animal food, and eighteen or twenty for corn, in order to bring the -prices of the thirteenth century to a level with those of the present -day. Combining the two, and setting the comparative dearness of cloth -against the cheapness of fuel and many other articles, we may perhaps -consider any given sum under Henry III. and Edward I. as equivalent in -general command over commodities to about twenty-four or twenty-five times -its normal value at present;" and again, "In the time of Edward I., an -income of 10 or 20 a year was reckoned a competent estate for a -gentleman; at least the lord of a single manor would seldom have enjoyed -more." The same writer says, "Sixteen will be a proper multiple, when we -would bring the general standard value of money in the reign of Henry VI. -to our present standard." Dean Milman, speaking of payments in 1344, says, -without giving reason or quoting authority, "Multiply by fifteen to bring -to present value."[443] Froude says, "A penny in terms of the labourer's -necessities must have been equal in the reign of Henry VIII. to the -present shilling;" and adopts "the relative estimate of twelve to one," as -generally representing the comparative value of money at that period. The -Rev. Dr. Cunningham, formerly professor of Economic Science, K.C.L., -kindly replying to a question on the subject, says, "For 1535, I should -say that a penny was worth at least a shilling in the present day. I could -not give a guess of any value as to the change between 1291 and 1535. At -the former date I fancy the values were estimates, and that the actual -receipts were chiefly in kind." We have ventured to take, as approximate -multiples, twelve times for the date of the "Taxatio" (A.D. 1291), and -twenty-four times for the "Valor" (A.D. 1535). - -But the comparative position of the parochial clergy, as of all other -classes of society, at these two periods, and at the present day, depends -not only on the amount of money which they received yearly, and on the -quantity of things which it would purchase, but also on the style of -living at the periods compared. In those times the houses of the smaller -gentry were rudely but substantially built of timber, and did not involve -frequent repairs. A little carving on the roof timbers of the hall--the -one living room--was a permanent decoration, which never needed renewing; -a high table of oak, with a great chair for the master, boards and -trestles for the other tables, benches to sit upon, and a few stools, were -the sufficient furniture; a little tapestry on the walls, a few bankers -(cushions on the benches), made quite a luxurious furnishing; and green -rushes strewed upon the floor supplied the place of carpets. The furniture -of the rest of the house was rude and substantial. Clothing, among all the -middle classes, was durable, and was worn for years; one or two better -garments, worn only on great occasions, lasted for a lifetime. The whole -mode of life of the middle classes was simple and homely to a degree which -we can hardly believe. They were early to rise, and lived an outdoor life, -the labouring men in field-work, the farmers not only overlooking the -work, but putting their hands to it; the squires looking sharply after -their own estates, and spending their leisure in field sports. The food -was simple but abundant; air and exercise gave hearty appetites for homely -fare, and early to bed saved light and firing. - -The result was that a much smaller income enabled a man to hold his -position in society.[444] In 1253, Henry III. issued an edict that whoever -had estates of 15 yearly value should be made knights.[445] In the second -year of Henry V. (1415), an Act of Parliament fixed 20 a-year as the -income which qualified a man to be a Justice of the Peace. - -A country rector, therefore, could hold his position in relation to his -farmers, and his squire, and his country neighbours, on an income which -seems to us wonderfully small; and the vicar and parish chaplain with 5 -a-year did not seem to his neighbours of any degree to be in a condition -of degrading poverty. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -DOMESTIC CHAPELS. - - -The Byzantine emperors first set up a private chapel in their houses; -kings followed their example, and the nobles followed the example of their -kings; and there was a danger of the clergy of these chapels, supported by -their lords, making themselves independent of the oversight of the -bishops, and of the worship of the rich being separated from the worship -of the poor.[446] In 692, the second Trullan Council decreed that no -clergyman should perform the rite of baptism or celebrate the Eucharist in -such a chapel without the bishop's permission. Gregory the Great gives -licence for the consecration of an oratory which Firmilian, a notary, has -built on his farm outside the city of Fermo, on condition that there shall -not be a baptistery or _cardinalem presbyterum_, a titled parish -priest.[447] The Council of Clermont, 535, decreed that on Sundays and -festivals all should come to church, and not invite priests to their -houses to say mass. - -[Illustration: Conisborough Castle. 10. The Chapel.] - -The great Saxon nobles had chapels in their houses and private chaplains. -Their chaplains are sometimes named in their wills, _e.g._ Queen -Ethelfleda, c. 972, leaves "4 hides of land to her reeve, 2 to her page, -and 2 to each of her priests." Lotgiva gives legacies "to Ailric my -household priest, and to Ailric my page."[448] Some of them Roger of -Wendover accuses of hearing in bed the daily mass said by their -chaplains.[449] With the Norman nobles the custom was universal; of the -numerous castles of the Norman period which remain to us, we do not call -to mind one which has not a chapel in the keep-tower. They differ in size, -from an oratory contained within the thickness of the wall, as at -Conisboro' and at Brougham, to a church forming a prominent feature of the -plan and elevation, as at the White Tower, London, and at Colchester. - -The chapel in the White Tower is the largest of the series. It is situated -on the principal (first) floor, and under it on the ground floor is a -kind of crypt. It has a nave with aisles, and a chancel with circular -apse. Gundulph of Rochester, who was its architect, gave great importance -to the chapel by projecting its round apse beyond the line of the east -wall like a great semicircular bastion, the only break in the massive -quadrangular plan. The keep of Colchester Castle, no doubt by the same -architect, is exactly on the same plan, only that the chapel is without -aisles. - -In the keeps of Rochester, Newcastle, Hedingham, Middleham, and others, a -commodious chapel, with handsome ornamentation of zigzag arch mouldings -and vaulted roof, is contained in the annex to the keep, which defends the -great stone stair leading to the principal floor. It is very probable that -where the keep had only a small oratory there was always a larger chapel -in the castle bailey[450] for the general inhabitants of the castle, for -in later times we commonly find an oratory for the lord and another for -the lady, and a chapel besides. - -In the Edwardian castles, the chapel is a constant feature. Conway affords -a good example; there it is on the south side of the outer court, and the -chaplain's room is in the adjoining tower. There are also, in the inner -court adjoining the state apartments, two small elegant oratories, one -called the king's and the other the queen's. There are other examples at -Beaumaris, Kidwelly, etc. Usually a small vestry and a priest's chamber -communicate directly with the chapel. - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE OF COUNT WALERAN DE ST. POL WITH THE SISTER OF -RICHARD, KING OF ENGLAND. ROYAL 14, E. IV., f. 30.] - -In the great houses of the nobles down to the end of the medival period, -the chapel is as universal a feature as the hall or the great -chamber.[451] The chapels at Ightham Mote, Kent; at Bodiam, Sussex; at the -Vyne, Hampshire; and at Wolsey's Palace at Hampton Court, are fine -examples. The still perfect chapel of Haddon Hall is in all respects like -an ordinary village church, with font and pulpit. The College Chapels of -Oxford and Cambridge, of Eton and Winchester, and of all the other -medival colleges and schools, the chapels of the Episcopal Palaces at -Winchester, Farnham, Lambeth, etc., are all normal examples of the -architectural features and furniture of the domestic chapels, and their -services are examples of the manners and customs of the chapel services of -the greater medival houses. - -The western end of the chapel is sometimes divided into two stories, both -opening upon the sacrarium; the upper story was usually intended for the -family, and the lower for the domestics. Sometimes the chapel on the -principal floor has, besides its internal approaches, an external stone -stair by which people from other parts of the house could enter the chapel -without passing through the house, as at the fourteenth-century houses of -Inceworth (?) and Earth, both in Cornwall. - -The principal residence of a great noble needed a chapel of considerable -size to accommodate the number of people, as numerous as the population of -a country parish or a small town, who were gathered into the castle during -the residence of its lord:--the lord's household of knights and squires, -yeomen and pages; his lady's separate household of ladies, bower-women, -and women in various kinds of service; the garrison of the castle, with -its commanders of knightly degree, their squires, men-at-arms, yeomen, and -grooms; the several staffs which looked after the various departments of -the service, the chambers, kitchens, stables, kennels, and mews; besides a -constant flow of visitors, with their complex trains of guards and -attendants. - -In England only the chief royal houses have maintained the medival -dignity of their ecclesiastical domestic establishments. Windsor Castle, -besides its oratory, has its noble chapel dedicated to St. George the -Patron Saint of England,[452] and its establishment of dean and canons, -singing men and boys, housed in a picturesque group of collegiate -buildings arranged round several cloistered courts. The Tower of London, -besides its chapel in the White Tower, has its church of St. Peter ad -Vincula in the courtyard. - -Many of the great nobles, who maintained a state little inferior to that -of royalty, had their chapel establishment of proportionate dignity. In -the opinion of that time, a man of great rank and estate owed it to the -glory of God that the worship of his household should be offered with -circumstances of solemn splendour; he owed it to the well-being of the -numerous people who depended upon him; and to the still more numerous -people of all estates, who looked to him for an example. - -The Duke of Buckingham's house at Thornbury had a chaplain, eighteen -clerks of the chapel, and nine boys.[453] - -The household book of Henry Algernon, the fifth Earl of Northumberland, -who was born in 1477, and died in 1527, gives us very full details of the -organization of the chapel staff of a great nobleman, their duties, and -their emoluments in money and kind. They consisted of a dean, who was to -be a D.D., or LL.D., or B.D., and ten other priests, eleven gentlemen, and -six children who composed the choir.[454] The secular duties which were -assigned to some of them will perhaps be better understood by a reference -to the past. The clergy had always been the advisers of the English kings -and nobles in the ordinary affairs of life: the Archbishop of Canterbury -was the king's official chief counsellor till long after the Norman -Conquest. Every ealdorman and great thane probably had a learned clerk in -his house, not only as a chaplain, but as an adviser in general affairs. -Henry II. organized his domestic religious establishment into a Department -of State, and used Churchmen in the civil administration as ministers, -ambassadors, and judges--there were none others so capable. The nobles -were following on the same lines, when they made one chaplain steward, -another secretary, and another tutor, in addition to their not burdensome -duties in the maintenance of Divine worship. So the people resorted to -their parish priest to advise them in their domestic difficulties and -extraordinary matters of business, to arbitrate in their differences, and -make their wills, for the simple natural reason of his wider knowledge of -affairs, his greater experience of mankind, his disinterestedness, and, -not least, his sacred character. - -In the castles of less noble and wealthy persons it is not uncommon to -find that there were several chaplains organized into a college of secular -priests, as at Colchester, Exeter, Hastings, Pontefract, etc., and not -infrequently endowed out of the rectories in the lord's gift. In some -instances the lord of numerous estates endowed the chapel of his principal -castle with the churches upon all his estates, as at Colchester, -Clitheroe, etc. The intention probably was not so much to enrich the -chaplain or form an endowment for the collegiate staff of the chapel, as -to make the castle chapel the mother church of the village churches on the -surrounding estates; just as the seneschal of the castle was the superior -officer of the bailiffs of the various manors; and so to concentrate the -ecclesiastical administration of all the estates, as well as their civil -administration, under the eye of the lord and his most trusted agents. - -Sometimes, on the other hand, the lord gave the service of the castle -chapel into the hands of some neighbouring monastery (probably of his own -founding), as at Colchester to the Abbey of St. John, at Brecon to the -Priory of Brecon. When Robert de Haia, in 1120, founded the Priory of -Boxgrove, Sussex, he stipulated that he should choose one of the canons to -officiate in the chapel of his neighbouring manor house of Holnaker. So -Sir Ralph de Eccleshall, _temp._ Edward I., gave his mill, etc., to the -monks of Beauchief, who covenanted in return to find him a priest for his -chapel at Eccleshall. They stipulated, however, that in floods or snow -they shall be excused from sending one of their canons to Eccleshall, but -may say the due masses in their own church at Beauchief. So the chapel of -the De Lovelot's castle at Sheffield was served by the canons of their -Priory of Worksop. - -The Collegiate Church of St. George within the royal castle of Windsor -had, and still has, an establishment consisting of a dean, twelve canons, -eight minor canons, eight vicars choral, and eight chorister boys.[455] -The Chapel of Wallingford Castle[456] was served by a dean, five -prebendaries, and a deacon. Tickhill had four prebendaries;[457] three was -a common number, as at Exeter, etc.; Pontefract had two. The chapel of -Bridgenorth Castle had a college of secular priests, and in later times -served as a parish church to the people of the borough. The castle chapels -at Nottingham and Skipton were rectories. The Castle Chapel at Kirby -Ravensworth had a chantry of two priests. - -The chapels of Skipton, Tutbury, and Stafford Castles are called "free -chapels." Of Skipton Castle Chapel certain liberties and duties of the -parson or chaplain were written in two mass-books, one new, the other old, -in one of which the earl granted that the said chaplain should have meat -and drink sufficient within the hall of the lord of the castle for him and -one garon[458] with him. And if the lord be absent, and no house kept, he -and his successors shall have for every ten weeks one quarter of wheat and -vi_s._ viii_d._; and vi_d._ in money and one robe or gown yerely at ye -Nativity of o'r Lord, or xiii_s._ iv_d._ in monie. An inquisition of -Edward III. adds as part of the endowment one _cameram fenestratam_ (a -chamber with a window) and pasture for viii oxen, vi cows, and two horses, -and sufficient timber for repairing his house and chamber, and dry wood -for firing. At the dissolution of chantries and free chapels, it became a -question whether this was not a parsonage.[459] In other cases, the -chaplain had a definite endowment, which seems to have been calculated -upon the not very large income of a parish chaplain. The four chaplains of -Tickhill were endowed with 5 each; the chaplain of Nottingham Castle with -5; the chaplain at Pleshey Castle, Essex, with 5;[460] the chaplain at -Denbeigh with 8, the foundation of the king; at Southampton with 10, -payable by Royal Letters out of the customs of that port. Probably in many -cases there was no endowment; the chapel was practically a "free chapel," -and the emoluments such as were agreed upon between the patron and his -nominee; these would naturally tend to become a customary payment and -perquisites; the Skipton agreement gives an instance of what was probably -customary: viz. a corrody for himself and a boy, and a small sum in money. - -The priest of the Chapel of Skelton Castle, Yorkshire, was, at the time of -the Suppression, only partly paid by Lady Conyers, 23_s._; and his stipend -was made up of payments from half a dozen other persons, from the 18_s._ -of R. Robinson, down to the 3_s._ 10_d._ of John Gyll, making a total of -4 2_s._ 10_d._[461] - -The domestic chapels of the nobility and great men were always -consecrated, and had a perpetual licence for Divine service. - -Very probably, where there were several chaplains, they all served their -lord in various clerkly capacities. So Piers Plowman:-- - - Somme serven the Kyng, and the silver tellen - In chequer and chauncerie, challengen his dettes - Of wardes, and of wardemotes, weyes and theyves; - And some serven as servants lordes and ladies, - And in stede of stewardes sitten and demen. - -The domestic chaplain is frequently named in wills as a witness or an -executor, and not infrequently as a legatee; _e.g._ Giles de Gadlesmere, -knight, 1337, leaves to Wm. Ocham, clerk, 100 shillings, unless he be -promoted before my death; Wm. de Ocham is one of the witnesses to the -will.[462] - -We find in the "Valor Eccl." a considerable number of chantries recorded -as founded in the chapels of castles. There is doubt in some cases whether -these were the ordinary endowments of the chaplain, made under the name of -a Chantry, for reasons of legal convenience, or whether, in addition to -the ordinary chaplain, a special endowment had been made for mortuary -masses, and, if so, whether the ordinary chaplain was also the Cantarist -and received the chantry endowment in addition to his normal stipend. The -chaplain celebrating in the chapel of the Castle of Downhead received from -the grant of King Stephen 5 a year, and chaplain for celebrating mass -twice every week at Penhill, for the soul of the founder, 2 13_s._ -4_d._[463] There were chantries in the chapels of the castles of -Chester, Sherifhoton, Pickering, Malton, Pontefract, Penrith, Sandall, -Skelton, Whorleton, Kermerdenin in Wales, Durham, Barnard Castle, Tutbury, -Stafford, Wilton, Norham, Alnwick, etc. The lord of Bridgenorth Castle -arranged with the Dean and Canons of Windsor to supply a priest to -celebrate three days a week for the founder and King John. - -Any one might build an oratory in his house,[464] but Divine service, that -is the Holy Communion, might not be celebrated in it without the bishop's -permission. Towards the close of the thirteenth century, the lesser gentry -began to include a chapel in the plan of their manor houses, and the -custom seems to have become almost universal in the following centuries. -We may take it as an indication of a growing desire to maintain the -regular daily practice of religious worship in a seemly solemn way for -their families and households. - -In the valuable digest of the Exeter Registers, for which historical -students are much indebted to Canon Hingeston-Randolph, the licences -issued during the twenty-four years of Edmund Stafford's Episcopacy -(1395-1419) are arranged under the family names of the persons to whom -they were granted, and there are two hundred and seventy-two names. In -many cases the licence extends to all their mansions and manors in the -Diocese of Exeter; which gives a rough estimate of about three hundred -domestic chapels in the manor houses of the two counties of Devon and -Cornwall; if we multiply that figure by twenty-six, we get a rough -estimate of over seven thousand domestic chapels in England and Wales. - -All these domestic chapels, except those of royal houses[465] and of some -free chapels, were under the jurisdiction of the bishop, and a constant -and perhaps jealous oversight was maintained lest they should detract from -the general assembly of all the parishioners for united worship in the -parish church, or interfere with the pastoral position and rights of the -rectors of the parishes. People with interest at Rome sometimes obtain -their licence direct from the pope. There is an example of the king's -ambassador obtaining a batch of them in 1343, but they are granted with -strict limitations. - -Among the Constitutions of Archbishop Stratford, made at the Council of -London (1342), is one which even restricts the power of the bishops to -grant licences: it decrees that "all licences granted by the bishops for -celebrating mass in places not consecrated other than to noble men and -great men of the realm, and to persons living at a considerable distance -from the church, or notoriously weak or infirm, shall be void." The decree -goes on to say that "whosoever, against the prohibition of the canon, -shall celebrate mass in oratories, chapels, houses, or other places, not -consecrated, without having obtained the licence of the diocesan, shall be -suspended from the celebration of Divine service for the space of a -month."[466] - - Robert Fitz Aer, the second of the name (c. 1190-1195), gave to the - Convent of Haughmond certain lands on condition that they would have - Divine service performed in his Chapel of Withyford three days a week, - when he or his wife or their heirs were resident in the manor. All - festivals were excluded from the agreement, and the parishioners were - not to attend these services to the injury of the mother church.[467] - -Here is an early example of the foundation of a domestic chapel under the -guise of a chantry:-- - - Sir G. de Breaute, in right of Joane his wife, had liberty given him - by Robert Dean of St. Paul's, with the consent of Walter Niger, Vicar - of Navestock, Essex, to found a chapel and chantry in his court at - Navestock, provided he and his heirs maintained a chaplain at his own - charge, sworn to preserve the liberty of the mother church, and to pay - the vicar all the profits he should receive there, and admit none of - the parishioners to confession or other offices there under pain of - being suspended by the vicar. The founder also and the heirs of the - said Joane his wife, and whoever else had the said chapel in his - lordship, were also to be sworn to preserve the rights of the mother - church under like pain. In which chapel the chaplain was to administer - the mass only with Bread and Holy Water, forbearing all other holy - offices, saving that at Easter the founder and his wife and heirs, - together with his free servants and guests, were to be admitted to the - sacrament of the altar; but all his servants were to go to the mother - church throughout the year.[468] And for this grant the founder and - his wife and heirs were to give to the mother church two wax candles, - each weighing a pound, to be offered, one at the Purification, the - other at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, before - vespers.[469] - -Another similar example is the chapel at the Vyne, Hampshire. - - In the twelfth century, Robert, Dean of Sherburn, granted to William - FitzAdam and his heirs to build a chapel in the parish of St. Andrew, - Sherborne, for the use of himself, his wife, and his household. The - said Robert to provide the chaplain, who shall eat at William's table, - and receive a stipend for his services from Robert; saving the rights - of the mother church; and William FitzAdam and his wife to attend - worship, and receive communion at the parish church on Christmas, - Easter, Purification, Whitsunday, and St. Andrew's Day. - -The present chapel at the Vyne is a late perpendicular building, in a -perfect state of repair; with its ancient screens and stalls. It has an -anti-chapel over which was my lord's oratory; the two chambers for the -chaplain on the south side have been converted into mortuary chapels of -the time of Charles II.[470] - -From the time that the Bishop's Registers began, _i.e._ from the close of -the thirteenth century, down to the time of the Reformation, they abound -in entries of the granting of licences for oratories in private houses. -They run in a customary form,[471] setting forth that the licence is given -to a particular person by name, his wife and children, servants, and -guests, to have Divine offices said in the oratory of his house of -so-and-so; there is usually a clause that on Sundays and other festivals, -they shall go to their parish church, there to hear the Divine service; -and a further clause requiring that all fees and offerings shall be paid -to the priest. A licence was not given once for all; very much to the -contrary. Sometimes it was given during the pleasure of the bishop; -sometimes for one year; for two years; for three years; renewable from -time to time; sometimes for the period of the grantee's life. In the -Episcopal Registers of Exeter, a number of licences are registered to the -family of Bottreaux, which, when put together, give a glimpse of family -history, and illustrate the principles on which the licences were granted. -Licence to hold service in the chapel of St. Mary Magdalen, at Boswithguy -(the oratories are frequently named under the invocation of some saint), -appears in the second year of Bishop Stafford's Register, 1396, to -Elizabeth Bottreaux; and is renewed in 1398. In 1399, a general licence is -given to William, son of Sir William Bottreaux, Knight, and to Sir Ralph -Bottreaux, Knight, and to John and Anna, children of the said Sir William. -Again, in 1410, a general licence is given to William, "lord of -Bottreaux," his wife, and their sons and daughters. We conjecture that -this William died in the following year, and was succeeded by his son -John, for again, in 1411, a licence is given to John Bottreaux, and -Elizabeth his wife, for all their manors and mansions in the diocese.[472] - -Sometimes, perhaps it was when the manor house was at very inconvenient -distance from the parish church, the licence was given "omissa clausula -Volumus, etc.," _i.e._ without the restricting clause about Sundays and -other festivals. - -The Registry of Archbishop Walter Gray records grants in 1229 to Alberic -de Percy, to have a chaplain to celebrate Divine offices in the chapel of -Sutton so long as he lives; to Alexander de Vilers and his heirs to have -Divine offices in his chapel of Newbottle for his family and guests for -ever;[473] to Robert le Vavasour and his heirs, at his chapel of -Hindishal; in 1254, to S. de Heddon and his heirs in the chapel of his -court of Headdon.[474] - -In 1343, Thomas de Peckam obtained a bull from Pope Alexander, licensing -him, since in winter he cannot get to his parish church because of the -floods, that he may have Divine service in his chapel at Wyke.[475] - -Temporary licences were sometimes granted in special cases of temporary -sickness or chronic infirmity; Bishop Stapledon, in 1312, permits Dame -Isabella de Fishacre to have Divine service at home, not only on week days -but also on festivals when, through the inclemency of the weather or -bodily infirmity, she cannot conveniently attend the parish church. In -1317, in consideration of Sir Peter Fishacre's impotency, he is allowed to -have Divine service celebrated in his own chamber in his house of Lupton. -In 1310, Oliver de Halap, who is broken with age, and has lost the sight -of his eyes, _senio fractus et luminibus occulorum privatus_, is -compassionately allowed by the same considerate bishop to have Divine -service celebrated in his manor house of Hertleghe. - -The custom of having a domestic chaplain extended, in the latter part of -the period with which we have to do, not only to the majority of the -country gentry, but to wealthy yeomen and well-to-do citizens. Mere -country gentlemen sometimes maintained a considerable chapel -establishment. Henry Machyn, in his diary,[476] says, in noticing the -death, in 1552, of Sir Thomas Jarmyn, of Rushbrook Hall, that "he was the -best housekeeper in the county of Suffolk, and kept a goodly chapel of -singing men." - -Richard Burre, a wealthy yeoman and farmer of the parsonage of Souwntyng, -in 1529, directs in his will that "Sir Robert Beckton," my chaplain, syng -ffor my sowle by the space of ix. yers.[477] - -When Alderman Monmouth took Tyndale into his house, and "did promys him x -pounds sterling to praye for his father, mother, their soules and all -christen soules,"[478] he clearly engaged that greatest of the translators -of the Bible as his domestic chaplain. It was very natural, and no doubt -usual, that special services for the deceased members of the family should -be celebrated in the chapel of the house, and by the chaplain of the -family. Not infrequently a chantry was founded in domestic chapels; _e.g._ -"Thomas de Ross, lord of Hamelak and Belvoir, 1412, leaves 400{li} for ten -chaplains to say mass, etc., in his chapel of Belvoir for eight -years."[479] - -Some further examples of it will be found in the chapter on chantries and -chantry-priests. - -Mr. Christopher Pickering, in his will, dated 1542, leaves "to my sarvands -John Dobson and Frances, xx_s._ a-piece, besydes ther wages; allso I give -unto Sir James Edwarde, my sarvand," etc.[480] One of the witnesses to the -will is "Sir James Edwarde, preste," so that the person whom Mr. Pickering -describes as his servant seems to have been his domestic chaplain. Sir -Thomas More says "every man has a priest to wait upon his wife;" so -Nicholas Blackburn, a wealthy citizen of York, and twice Lord Mayor, -leaves in 1431-2 a special bequest to his wife, "to find her a -gentlewoman, and a priest, and a servant."[481] - - * * * * * - -We have seen that the lord of the house usually selected his own chaplain, -and made his own arrangements with him on the subject of remuneration, -which most likely consisted of his lodging in the chaplain's chamber and -his board at the lord's table, and a fixed sum of money, as at Skipton. -But there were cases in which the chaplain was nominated by some outside -authority, as the rector or vicar of the parish, as in the case of the -Vyne, as if to lessen the likelihood of friction between the parish priest -and the chaplain of the manor house. - - * * * * * - -The frequent occurrence of licences to solemnize the marriage of specified -persons in the chapel of the bride's home shows that then, as now, a -special licence was required for such occasions. - - 7 Sep., 1363. Licence for a marriage between Sir Andrew Lutterel, - Knt., and Hawise Despencer, to be solemnized by Thos. Abbot of Bourne - and the Vicar of Bourne, in the chapel of Lady Blanche Wake of Lidell, - within her castle of Bourne.[482] - - 4 Aug., 1417. Licence to Eliz. de Beaumont, for marriage between Wm. - Lord Deyncourt and Elizabeth, daughter of the said Elizabeth, to be - celebrated in the chapel of Beaumanoir, in the parish of Barowe.[483] - - 1457. Henry, son of Humphrey Duke of Buckingham, was licensed, by the - Bishop of Lichfield, to be married in the chapel of Maxstoke Castle to - his cousin Margaret, Countess of Richmond.[484] - - A licence to solemnize a marriage in the chapel of the manor house of - Homesid House, Durham, was given in 1500, on account of bad weather - and the infirmity of the parents of the bride.[485] - -In the following case a license was not asked for, because the marriage -was uncanonical:-- - - In 1434, process was issued against Thomas Grene of Norton by - Toucester, Knight, for clandestine marriage with Marnia Belers, - _co'matre sue_ (co-sponsors), in the private chapel within the house - of Ric. Knyghtley at Ffarvesley, in the presence of Ric. Knyghtley and - his son and other witnesses.[486] - -The clergy[487] sometimes had a domestic chapel in their houses, but even -they were carefully restricted as to the when, and where, and how they -might celebrate the Divine service in them. - - In the life of J. de Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter, 1327, we read that - in the earlier part of his career, while still Archdeacon of - Nottingham, in 1326, he was sent as nuncio by the pope into France and - England. He writes to the pope that he is so overwhelmed with business - that he prays for leave for himself and his people to have mass said - before daylight. The pope grants it, but desires that the permission - be rarely used, because since the Son of God _qui candor est lucis - tern_ is immolated in the service of the mass, such a sacrament - ought not to be celebrated in the darkness, but in the light.[488] - - In the register of Bishop Grandisson, in 1328, is the record of a - licence, only "during pleasure," to the Rector of Southpole (?), for - an oratory _infra mansum rectori tu_.[489] - - 1404. Licence to the Rector of Wodemancote to have service in his - house for one year, on account of infirmity.[490] - -These domestic chapels were thoroughly furnished with every usual ornament -and appliance in a style of sumptuousness proportionate to the rank and -means of the master of the house. From the Household Book of the Earl of -Northumberland we gather that his chapel had three altars, and that my -lord and my lady had each a closet, _i.e._ an oratory, in which were -other altars. The chapel was furnished with hangings, and had a pair of -organs. The service books were so famous for their beauty that, on the -earl's death, Cardinal Wolsey intimated his wish to have them. There is -mention, too, of suits of vestments, and single vestments, copes and -surplices, and altar cloths for the five altars. All these things were -under the care of the yeoman of the vestry, and were carried about with -the earl at his removals from one to another of his houses. - -Catalogues of the furniture of the smaller domestic chapels are numerous -in the inventories attached to ancient wills; two may be given here as -examples-- - - Lady Alice West, of Hinton Marcel, Hants, 1395, bequeaths to her son - Thomas, "a pair of matins bookes and a pair of bedas," and to her - daughter Iohane, a masse book and all the books that I have of Latin, - English, and French, out-take the foresaid mattins books bequeathed to - Thomas. Also all my vestments of my chappel with the towels belonging - to the altar, and my tapites white and red paled,[491] and blue and - red paled, with all my green tapites that belong to my chappel - aforesaid, and with the frontals of the aforesaid altar, and with all - the curtains and trussing coffers, and all other apparele that belong - to my chapel. Also a chalice and paxbrede and holy-water pot with the - sprinklers; two cruets, two chandeliers, two silver basins for the - altar with scutcheons of my ancestors' arms, and a sacring bell, and - all of silver. Also a table depainted of three (a triptych).[492] - -In the inventories of the will of John Smith, Esq., of Blackmore, Essex, -in 1543-- - - In the chapel chamber, a long setle joyned. In the chapel, one aulter - of joyner's work. Item, a table with two leaves of the passion gilt [a - panelled diptych]. Item, a long setle of wainscott. Item, a bell - hanging over the chapel. Chapel stuff, copes and vestments three. - Aulter fronts four, corporal case one, and dyvers peces of silk - necessary for cusshyons v. - -The altar vessels are not specially mentioned; they were probably included -with the other silver, and the altar candlesticks among the "xiiiij latyn -candlestics of dyvers sorts," mentioned elsewhere. - - * * * * * - -It is a very pleasant feature in the daily life of the manor house of -medival England which is brought home to us by these studies of ancient -domestic architecture and these dry extracts from Episcopal Registers. By -the latter part of the fourteenth century it would seem that nearly every -manor house had a chapel, and a resident chaplain. Divine services--Matins -and mass before breakfast, and evensong before dinner--were said every -day; and when the solemn worship of Almighty God held so conspicuous a -place in the daily family life, it is not possible that it should not have -exercised an influence upon the character and habits of the people; for -the family and household really attended the service as a part of the -routine of daily duty. There are numerous incidental allusions in the -course of historical narratives which prove it. Robert of Gloucester says -of William the Conqueror-- - - In church he was devout enow, for him none day abide - That he heard not Mass and Matins, and Evensong and each tide. - -The story that William Rufus, before he succeeded to the throne, was first -attracted to William of Corboil by the rapidity with which he got through -the mass, indicates that even that graceless prince submitted to the -irksome restraint of the universal custom. And the stories about Hunting -Masses, in which chaplains omitted everything but the essentials of the -Divine service, afford the same sort of confirmation.[493] - -The Romance of King Arthur is not often quoted as an historical authority, -but romances are a picture of contemporary manners and customs, and may be -so far depended upon; and this daily service in the castles and manor -houses of the Middle Ages is one of the facts of the life of the time -which is abundantly illustrated in them. Allusions such as the following -are frequent: "And so they went home and unarmed them, and so to evensong -and supper. And on the morrow they heard mass, and after went to dinner -and to their counsel, and made many arguments what were best to do."[494] - -And in the "Vision of Piers Plowman" we read (Passus v)-- - - The king and his knights to the church wenten, - To hear matins and mass, and to the meat after. - -The imagination rests with pleasure on the ordinary orderly life of a -medival squire's manor house, sweetened by this domestic religion; on the -kindly influence of a pious, sensible chaplain over the whole household, -the adviser of the lord, the tutor of the children, the monitor of the -domestics. We linger upon the idea of the comfort of it to the widowed -Lady Bottreaux, and to the infirm old Sir Peter Fishacre, and to poor old -Oliver de Halap, "broken with age, and deprived of the sight of his eyes." - -We may add an illustrative note, which, though of later date, is true to -the habits of this earlier period. - -"For many years together I was seldom or never absent from Divine service -(in church) at five o'clock in the morning in summer, and six o'clock in -the winter." And, again, "at Naworth, the house of Sir Charles Howard, -afterwards Earl of Carlisle, there was a chaplain in the house, an -excellent preacher, who had service twice every Sunday in the chapel, and -daily prayers morning and evening, and was had in such veneration by all -as if hee had been their tutelar angel" [which did not prevent him from -making love to the eldest daughter of the house, and making mischief for -the autobiographer].[495] - - By the statute 21 Hen. VIII. c. 13, a limit was set to the number of - domestic chaplains. An archbishop might have 8 chaplains; a duke, 6; - marquis and earl, 5; viscount, 4; bishop, 6; chancellor, baron, and - knight of the garter, 3; duchess, marchioness, countess, and baroness, - being widows, 2; treasurer and controller of the king's house, the - king's secretary, the dean of the chapel, the king's almoner, the - master of the rolls, 2; the chief justice of the king's bench, and - warden of the cinque ports, 1. Proviso, that the king's chaplains may - hold as many livings as the king shall give. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE CHANTRY. - - -The characteristic feature of the Church work of the seventh century was -the conversion of the Teutonic heathen people who had conquered the -eastern half of England, and the foundation of a bishopric in every one of -the heptarchic kingdoms; of the eighth century, the multiplication of -monastic centres of evangelization; of that and the succeeding centuries -the spread of the parochial system of a priest for each manor; of the -twelfth century, the foundation of monasteries; of the thirteenth century, -the foundation of vicarages in the appropriated parishes, and the -institution of the new Order of friars; of the fourteenth and fifteenth -centuries, the foundation of chantries: during these two centuries about -two thousand chantries were founded. - -A chantry is a foundation for the maintenance of one or more priests, to -offer up prayers for the soul of the founder, his family and ancestors, -and usually of all Christian souls; and this was the motive of the -founders of the majority of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. - -In the Religious Foundations of earlier times the condition of prayers for -the donors was incidental. A man did not build a church for his _ville_ or -found a monastery on his estate, with the sole or principal view of -securing perpetual prayers for himself; but in accordance with the -religious views of those times when a man did found any pious work, from a -great monastery intended to be a nursery of saints to an almshouse for -twelve poor people, he asked--he stipulated in the terms of his foundation -deed--for the prayers of the members of his foundation. It would have -looked like a want of proper religious feeling had he neglected to seek -the benefit of their intercessory prayers. The desire for the prayers of -the Church by those who could not found monasteries or build churches, -found its satisfaction in benefactions to religious foundations, which -secured for the donors the privileges of confraternity, and among these, -the prayers of the community.[496] Every religious house had its catalogue -of benefactors, or its list of confraters; and the grateful convent -offered prayers for their good estate while living and the repose of their -souls after death.[497] At Durham there lay on the altar a book very -richly covered with gold and silver containing the names of all the -benefactors of the cathedral church collected out of ancient MSS. about -the time of the Suppression.[498] But far more interesting is the -"Catalogus Benefactorum" of the great monastery of St. Alban, preserved in -the British Museum Library; in it the name of every benefactor is entered, -with a note of his gift--of an estate, or house, or sum of money, or -sacred vessel; and in many cases a picture of the donor and of his gift is -given, the house being shown in the background of the picture, the flagon -or purse of gold held in his hand. - -Error came in when a man founded a Divine service the sole object of which -was to obtain prayers for himself; it was mitigated by the association of -family, benefactors, and friends, and the usual addition of all faithful -souls. After all, a saint of old was glad that his name should be enrolled -in the diptych of his Church, and remembered in her prayers. But a saint -would have been content to be included in the general sentence with which -the roll concluded--"and all those whose names, O God, Thou knowest." We, -at least, may be satisfied with the commemoration by our Church of "all -those who have departed in Thy faith and fear," without being too ready to -find fault with those whose eschatology differed somewhat from ours, and -was less scriptural; but whose simple desire, after all, was for God's -mercy on themselves, and who, in anxiety for themselves, did not forget -"all faithful souls." - - * * * * * - -In some cases it is probable that the common human desire to be remembered -after death took this shape; a chantry was a monument; and a monument of -living men keeping a name in remembrance has very respectable countenance. -This is the explanation of a good number of English titles of nobility, -with grants of suitable estates to maintain the title. The Dukedoms of -Marlborough and of Wellington, the Earldoms of St. Vincent and of Nelson, -were intended by the sovereign who granted the titles, and the -Parliaments which granted the estates, to keep in memory those great men -and their services to the country, and have well served their purpose. So, -many a chantry kept the name of the founder fresh in the recollection of -his descendants, and of the people of his neighbourhood, which would -otherwise have been forgotten. The desire to have one's name kept alive on -the lips of prayer was not an unworthy one. - - * * * * * - -But the two thousand chantries founded between the thirteenth and -sixteenth centuries were not all of this exclusively personal kind. Many -included objects of general utility, which under the name of a chantry -could be founded and endowed in a legal way, evading many legal -difficulties. Some of the chantries were really chapels-of-ease for an -outlying population; some were additions to the working clerical staff of -a town; some were grammar schools, the chantry priest being really the -schoolmaster. - -Chantries began to be founded late in the thirteenth century. The -"Taxatio" records only two: one of Hugh of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln, who -died 1225, the other at Hatherton, in the Archdeaconry of Coventry.[499] -The number of them increased more and more, and the greater proportion -were founded in the fifteenth century.[500] They were distributed very -unequally over the country. Some of the cathedrals served by canons had a -considerable number, perhaps because founders of chantries who were great -noblemen and ecclesiastics preferred to be commemorated in the mother -church of their diocese. Thus, St. Paul's, London,[501] had 37; York, 3; -Lichfield, 87; Lincoln, 36; Chichester, 12; Exeter, 11; Hereford, 11; -Sarum, 11; none in Wells; none in Bath Abbey Church, but 18 in the -adjoining college of Delamond Roy. The cathedrals served by monks seem not -to have encouraged the founding of chantries; thus there are none in -Durham, Ely, Norwich, Worcester, Winchester, and only, exceptionally, 4 in -Canterbury, 2 in Rochester; 4 in the Church of Austin Canons, which was -the Cathedral of Carlisle. They were numerous in the great town churches, -founded by the wealthy citizens; there were over 180 in the city and -suburbs of London; 42 in the city of York; 23 in Newcastle; 4 in the city -of Lincoln; 10 in the city of Hereford; 13 in the town of Newark; 7 in -Doncaster; 5 in Rotherham, etc. They were unequally distributed over the -country parishes; in Norwich diocese, there are very few outside the -towns; in Yorkshire they are very numerous; in Wales there are almost -none. - -We give at length the history of a chantry at Ipswich, as an illustration -of these personal chantries. - - Edmund Daundy, merchant of Ipswich, in 1514, founded a perpetual - chantry for a chantry priest at the altar of St. Thomas the Martyr, in - the parish church of St. Lawrence, in Ipswich, for the prosperous - state of King Henry VIII. and Katharine his queen, of himself, Edmund - Daundy, Thomas Wulcy (Cardinal Wolsey), clarke, dean of the cathedral - church of Lincoln, and of Wm. Daundy, his son, for the term of their - life, and for their souls after their decease; and also for the souls - of Anne, his late wife, Robert Wulcy and Jane, his wife, father and - mother of the same Thomas Wulcy, etc. - - The presentation is to be in the hands of the wardens of the parish - and six men nominated by the bailiffs, who shall elect and nominate a - man to the Prior of Holy Trinity, who shall present him to the - Ordinary for admittance; and if the parish priest refuse to induct - him, he may induct himself. He is to take oath to keep the statutes of - the foundation, perform the duties personally, not be absent for more - than twenty days, except from infirmity, not take any other benefice, - office, stipend, trental, nor yearly service, but the 11 6_s._ - 8_d._[502] granted by the founder; he shall abstain from all unlawful - games and sports. - - His duties are, to say twice in the week _dirge_ and _commendations_, - and once in the week mass of _requiem_, with the collect, _Almighty - and Everlasting God, who governest both the quick and dead, etc._, - with its ... and post communion thereto pertaining; and each day the - same priest, singing his mass, and going to the altar's end before he - washes his hands at the lavatory, shall say this psalm, _De - profundis_, with the collect _Fidelium_, etc., at the end whereof he - shall say, "May the soul of Edmund Daundy, founder of this chantry, - and the souls of his parents and kinsfolk and benefactors, and all - Christian souls, rest in peace and quietness. Amen." - - Also the priest is to be present in the choir of the parish church of - St. Lawrence, having on his surplice, at mattins, processions, mass, - and evensong, singing the psalmodies with the other priests and clarks - every Sunday and Doublefeast and other convenient times, in augmenting - of the Divine service, except any lawful case do let him. - - Further on, he orders that the names of the persons to be prayed for, - viz. the king and queen, Edmund Daundy, Thomas Wulcy, and Wm. Daundy, - among the quick during their lives, and also the names of Anne, - Robert, and Jane among the dead, shall be written on a table, and the - said table by the said priest shall be set openly upon the altar of - St. Thomas the Martyr, etc., to the intent that every day the said - priest, in his mass, shall pray for the prosperity of our said - sovereign lord the king, and the said Edmund the founder, etc., etc. - - He assigns for the residence of the priest his messuage lately built, - with a garden and a certain lane, and all its appurtenances, lately - built in the parish of St. Lawrence. - - He has provided for the chantry a mass-book, two complete vestments, - and a book called a Coucher; and he directs that the vestments, books, - chalices, and other ornaments of the altar given, or to be given, by - him or any other patron, after mass shall be properly put away in a - chest and locked up.[503] He also wills that the priest shall deposit - yearly 2_s._ 4_d._ in a box, with two keys, one to be kept by himself - and the other by the churchwardens, for the maintenance of the house, - chantry, furniture, etc. Also, that every priest shall leave to his - successor 40_s._, for the costs and charges of his successor about his - presentation, admission, institution, and induction. - - He makes elaborate arrangements for his year-day, with the whole - service ordained for the dead, for ever. The chantry priest is on that - day to distribute to the parish priest of St. Lawrence ministering - about the same anniversary, 12_s._; to the twelve priests, masses and - other divine services there doing, 6_s._; to the parish clerk, 12_d._; - to the other six clerks there singing and serving God, 12_d._, equally - among them; to twelve children there singing and serving God, 12_d._; - to the sexton and ringing of the bells, 6_d._; to twelve poor indigent - persons of the said parish to pray for his soul and the souls above - said, 2_s._; and to the two bailiffs of Ipswich, 13_s._ 4_d._--that is - to say, to every one of them to offer at the said anniversary, 12_d._, - and to control the said anniversary, 6_s._ 8_d._ - - "And because it is not in man but in God to foresee and provide all - things, and oftentime it fortuneth that what in the beginning was - thought to be profitable, afterwards is found not to be so," therefore - he reserves to himself only the power to alter these statutes.[504] - -The Pudsay Chantry at Bolton-by-Bowland, Yorkshire, was founded for a -priest to pray for the soul of the founder, etc., and all Christian souls, -and also to say mass at the manor house of Bolton when he shall be -required by the said founder or his heirs.[505] - - * * * * * - -Frequently a chantry was endowed for more than one priest; that of the -Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral was for two priests, whose stipends -at the end of the fifteenth century amounted to 12 each. The endowment -of the early Chantry of Hugh of Wells, at Lincoln, was held by the sacrist -who, out of its 21 6_s._ 8_d._ a year, had to find two chaplains and to -pay alms to the poor at the obit. The Burghersh Chantry, at Lincoln -Cathedral, was for five chaplains and six boys who lived together in the -chantry house in the Cathedral Close; the endowment, after paying for the -maintenance and schooling of the boys, left 7 9_s._ a piece to each of -the cantarists. There was a chantry of six priests at Harwood, Yorkshire. -There were many others with two and three priests. Richard III. commenced -the foundation of a chantry of a hundred chaplains in York Minster; six -altars were erected, and the chantry house begun, when the king's death on -Bosworth Field put an end to the magnificent design.[506] The foundation -of his fortunate rival, though not so extravagant, was of regal splendour. -Henry VII.'s chapel at Westminster is the sumptuous chantry chapel in -which his monument, with its bronze effigy, protected by the bronze herse, -still remain uninjured. The title deed of the endowment which he made for -the perpetuation of his memory still remains in the form of a handsome -volume, whose pages are adorned with miniature pictures, and the great -seals are still attached to it, in their silver cases. First, he provided -for three additional monks to say masses for him, who were to be called -the king's chantry monks. On every anniversary, the greatest bell of the -monastery was to be rung for an hour, and the bells rung as at the most -solemn anniversaries. A hundred wax tapers, each 12 lbs. in weight and 9 -feet long, were to be set upon and about the herse, and there continually -to burn during all the time of the service of the _Placebo_, the _Dirge_, -with lessons, lauds, and mass of _Requiem_, and all the orations, -observances, and ceremonies belonging thereto. Also 24 new torches were to -be held about the herse all the time of the service. Twenty pounds were to -be given in alms, viz. 25 marks among the blind, lame, impotent, and most -needy people, 2_d._ to each man and woman, and 1_d._ to each child so far -as it will go; and 5 marks to be given to the 13 bedesmen and 3 bedeswomen -provided in the said monastery (of whom one was to be a priest, and all -under the government of a monk), 12_d._ to each. A weekly obit was to be -held, at which the bells were to be rung; and alms given to the 13 -bedesmen and 2 bedeswomen and 124 others, 1_d._ to each. Thirty tapers -were to burn at the weekly obit, to be renewed when they had burnt down to -5 feet long; to burn also during high mass and first and latter evensong, -and at every principal feast; and at the coming of the king and queen for -the time being into the Church of the said monastery, and of any of royal -blood, dukes, and earls. Four of the torches to be held about the herse at -weekly obits, to be renewed when wasted to 7 feet long. Four tapers, one -at each side and one at each end, were to burn perpetually night and day, -besides the 100 aforesaid, to be renewed when wasted to 6 feet. - -[Illustration: Abbot, monks, and bedesmen of Westminster Abbey.] - -Every year, on some day before the anniversary, the abstract of the grant -was to be read in the chapter house, and the Chief Justice or King's -Attorney or Recorder of London to be present, and to receive 20_s._ for -the attendance, and after the reading to go straight to the herse and say -certain psalms. The woodcut, taken from one of the illuminations of this -title deed, represents the abbot and several monks and the bedesmen above -mentioned. - - * * * * * - -Parochial benefices were sometimes appropriated to the maintenance of -chantries; in some cases what was done amounted to this: that the parish -church was converted into a chantry for the lord of the manor and his -family. Thus, in 1319, Sir John de Trejagu, Knt., founded a chantry for -four chaplains in the Church of St. Michael Penkvil for prayers for -himself and family. The proposal was approved by the bishop, who made the -church collegiate, and the chief of the four clergymen who were to serve -it an archpriest, with the care of the parishioners. - -So, in 1334, Eresby Church was appropriated to the Chantry Chapel of -Spillesby by the bishop, on the petition of Sir Rob. de Willughby, Knt., -and a master and twelve chaplains of the chantry were founded there by Sir -John de W. and Lady Johan his wife.[507] In 1395, Elizabeth de Willughby, -Consort of Sir Robert, lord of Eresby, left her body to be buried in the -above chantry, and bequeathed to the chantry a crucifix of gold in which -is a piece of the cross of our Lord, and set with two rubies and two -emeralds, with a circle of pearls on the head, to remain there for ever -without being alienated.[508] - -Isabel, widow of Sir Fulke de Penbridge (1410), purchased the advowson of -Tonge Church, Shropshire, from Shrewsbury Abbey, rebuilt the church in its -present beauty, and endowed it with 50, to support a warden, five -chaplains, and thirteen old men. The chaplains were not to take other -preferment. If any of the poor men were sick or bedridden, they were to be -visited three times a week by one of the chaplains. If any stranger dined -in hall, the chaplain who introduced him was to pay for his dinner, 3_s._ -if at the high table, 1_s._ 4_d._ if at the low.[509] - -Sometimes a man founded more than one chantry, perhaps, in churches on his -several estates; thus, Ralph Basset, of Drayton, Knight, in 1389 leaves -200 to found two chantries, "one in St. Mary's Chapel in Olney -Churchyard, and one in the new chapel built by me at Colston -Basset."[510] Sir William de Molynes, Knight, in 4 Richard II., leaves -bequests "to every chaplain of my three chantries."[511] - - * * * * * - -The founder of a chantry usually kept the right to nominate the cantarist -in his own family. Thus, the founder of a chantry of three priests, who -were to dwell together in a house vulgarly called Muston, in the parish of -Leverton and Leake, left the right of presentation to her daughters.[512] -Sometimes the presentation was left to the parish priest, as at -Edmonton;[513] sometimes it was even vested in the parishioners, as at -Harlow.[513] - -Chantries continued to be founded up to the very eve of their general -destruction: _e.g._ one at Bishopstone Church, Hereford, in 1532; in -Lugwardine Church, in 1541; and in Welsh Newton, in a doubtful way, as -late as 1547.[514] - - * * * * * - -It may be worth while to say that the clergy were as much given to making -arrangements for posthumous prayers for themselves and their families as -the laity. A large proportion of the chantry chapels in cathedrals were -founded for themselves by bishops. One of the earliest is that of Bishop -Hugh of Wells, of Lincoln in A.D. 1235; Bishop Stavenby of Lichfield, who -died 1238, set the example there; and so in other cathedrals. There is a -pleasing touch of sentiment in Bishop Weseham's foundation of a chantry in -Lichfield Cathedral for himself and his friend, Bishop Grostete of -Lincoln, of which cathedral he had himself been dean before his promotion -to the episcopate.[515] - -Not many parish priests founded chantries, because they were seldom rich -enough to undertake anything so costly; but the numerous instances in -their wills of provision made for trentals, month's minds, and obits, -attest their belief and feeling on the subject.[516] There is a quaint -touch of professional experience in the condition of the bequest of John -Cotes, Canon of Lincoln in 1433, to the resident canons, vicars, -chaplains, poor clerks, and choristers attending his funeral, "and present -at the whole office, not to those going like vagabonds through the middle -of the church at the time of the said office."[517] - - * * * * * - -The majority of the chantries were founded at an existing altar of a -cathedral, monastic, or parish church; but chantry chapels were specially -provided for many of these services, and were the occasion of the -introduction of a great deal of architectural variety and interest in -existing churches. In the cathedrals, little chapels were screened off in -various places. A very favourite locality for the burial of a bishop was -between the great pillars of the nave or choir; the space between the -pillars was converted into a little chapel by stone screens which enclosed -the tomb and altar, and left space for a priest to minister and an acolyte -to serve, while those attending the service stood or knelt outside, and -could see or hear through the open-work of the screen. Without going -further than Winchester Cathedral, we shall find illustrations of -varieties of plan and elevation of these chantry chapels. - -Those of Wykeham and Edyngdon on the south side of the nave have the space -between two pillars screened off with elaborate tabernacle work of stone, -and are groined above. Those of Fox and Gardiner are on the south and -north sides of the choir; each has a small chamber adjoining the chapel. -Those of Cardinal Beaufort and Waynflete are on the south and north sides -of the retro-choir. On each side of the Lady Chapel is a space enclosed -for a chantry chapel by wooden screens; that on the south (to Bishop -Langton) has benches round the three sides, panelled at the back and -canopied by a tester, for people attending the service. - -[Illustration: Tewkesbury Abbey. The Warwick Chantry Chapel.] - -[Illustration: Cuckfield Church, Sussex--before restoration.] - -In a parish church, the place provided for a memorial service was -sometimes a chapel added to the choir of the church and opening into it, -but partitioned by stone, or, more frequently, wooden screens; these -chapels were sometimes architecturally beautiful, and added to the -spaciousness and dignity of the church. But often, instead of being an -addition to the spaciousness of the church, they were a practical -infringement upon its space; for the most frequent provision for a chantry -was made by screening off the east end of an aisle, either of the chancel -or nave. There were rare examples of the chantry chapel being a detached -building in the churchyard. At Winchester there is an example both of a -chantry at the side of the College chapel and also of another, with a -priest's chamber over it,[518] in the middle of the cloister court. - -[Illustration: Screen of Chantry Chapel, Dennington, Suffolk.] - -It seems desirable to repeat here that some of the domestic chapels were -founded as chantry chapels, or had a chantry subsequently founded within -them; as the domestic chapel at the Vyne, Hants. There were two chantries -in the chapel of Pontefract Castle; one in the chapel of the manor house -at Topcliff, Yorkshire, and at Cransford, Dorset, and in the Bishop of -Durham's manor house at Darlington. Very probably the service in a -domestic chapel always included some commemoration of the departed members -of the family. - - * * * * * - -It was only well-to-do people who could afford to found and endow a -perpetual chantry; there were many less costly ways in which men showed -their solicitude for their own well-being, and their affection for their -belongings, by making such provision for mortuary prayers and masses as -their means allowed. Sometimes provision is made for a chantry to last for -a limited number of years. Thus-- - - John Cotes, of Tevelby, Canon of Lincoln in 1433, left for a chaplain - to sing every day for twenty years, "to have 4 13_s._ 4_d._ per ann., - and 3_s._ 4_d._ for wine, wax, and candles, and to engage in no other - duty, spiritual or temporal, under pain of my anathema." - - Robert Astbroke, of Chepyng Wycombe, 1533, leaves money for "a priest - to sing for my soul in Wicomb Church, at Ihus altar for x years, and I - desire that there be no prieste admytted to the said servys but that - can sing at least his playn song substancyally."[519] - - Thomas Booth, in Eccles Church in Lancashire, leaves 100 marks to two - chaplains for ten years in two chapels--five marks a year each.[520] - - Robert Johnson,[520] Alderman of York, leaves, "to the exhibition of - an honest prest to synge at the alter of Our Lady daily by the space - of vij yeres xxxv{li.} And I will that what prest that shall serve it - every day, when that he hath saide masse, shall stand affore my grave - [which was 'affore the mydste of the alter'] in his albe, and ther to - say the psalme of _De Profundis_, with the collettes, and then caste - holy water upon my grave."[521] - -So, we have bequests of money to provide one or two chaplains for two -years; still more frequently one or two chaplains for one year; frequently -for a trental of masses, and an obit, that is for masses for thirty days -after death, and after that a mass on the anniversary of death; most -frequently of all, for mass on the first, third, seventh, and thirtieth -day, and on the years' day.[522] In most cases there was a sum left for -wax tapers and other funeral expenses, and for a donation to every clerk, -or layman, attending the funeral mass and the obit. In the case of the -poorest, the parish priest said a mass for the dead, and committed the -body, with the proper prayers, to the grave.[523] - -[Illustration: VIGILI MORTUORUM. XV. CENT. MS., EGERTON, 1070, f. 54 v.] - -Ralph Lord Cromwell, making his will in 1457, desired that his body should -be buried in Tattershall Church, which he had rebuilt and made -Collegiate,[524] and that three thousand masses should be said for his -soul. - - John Prestecote, 1411-1412 [seems to be a clergyman], leaves stock to - churchwardens of several parishes to maintain his anniversary for - ever, and anniversaries of others; leaves his best silver-covered cup - to the Prioress of Polslo Convent, to remain in that house for ever, - and be called by his name "Prestcote" in his memory.[525] - - 1503. Agnes Walworth leaves to the Church of St. Peter a cup of silver - gilt, and to be prayed for in the Bead Roll for one whole year.[526] - - 1508. Wm. Harcote leaves his body to be buried in St. Peter's - Churchyard, and money to purchase a cross, according to the cross of - St. Nicholas in the churchyard, to stand over his grave.[527] - - 1509. Wm. Plesyngton orders his body to be buried in St. Peter's - Churchyard; a barrel of beer, with bread,[528] to be given in the - church at his cost to the poor of the parish; Sir Jeffrey, his ghostly - father, to say a trental of masses for his soul in St. Peter's Church, - and to be paid 5_s._[529] - -Here are some curiosities on the subject-- - - Dame Eliz. Bourchier, in 1499, leaves "_xx marcs for a yearly obit_, - at St. Dunstan's in the East, if the parson and parishioners will - have it; if not, at some other church; and each of her servants, men - and women, dwelling with her at the _time of death, to have a - convenient black gown_ to pray for her soul."[530] - - In 1452, Thomas of Beckington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, consecrated a - tomb which he had made for himself, and said mass, in full - pontificals, for his own soul, for the souls of his parents, and all - the faithful departed, in the presence of a vast congregation.[531] - - The Commonalty of Oxford was required to found an anniversary for the - souls of the clerks and others, about forty in number, killed in a - Town and Gown riot on St. Scholastica's Day, 1354, and to make an - offering, to be distributed 1_d._ to each of forty poor scholars, and - the rest to St. Mary's Church. It was continued down to the - Reformation.[532] - - Roger Wylkynson, of Swyneshead, yeoman, 1499, leaves to his godson his - principal messuage and lands, "to him and his heirs in tail, they - keeping my anniversary in Swyneshed Church."[533] - - Thomas Normanton, of Tynwell, 1533, leaves his lands to his eldest son - Richard in tail, "he and his heirs to keep my anniversary in Ketton - Church for ever."[534] The "for ever" lasted sixteen years. - - John Toynton, of Lincoln, chaplain, 1431, directs his anniversary to - be kept ten years for the following alms:--"In the offering at mass, - 6_d._; in the tolling of the bells to the clerks, 2_d._; in candles at - the mass, 2_d._; in bread at the dirge, 1_s._ 4_d._; six chaplains - saying dirge and mass, 12_d._--that is, to each 2_d._; to poor and - needy, 7_d._; to the parochial chaplain saying my name in his roll on - Sundays at prayers, 4_d._; to the chantry priest, Robert Dalderby, of - Lincoln [chaplain], a new vestment of ruby satin, with golden letters - upon it, and a new vestment of Borde to Alexander the chaplain, for - masses."[535] - - Robert Appulby of Lincoln leaves a bequest to the Guild of Clerks at - Lincoln that his name may be recited among the names of the departed, - and the antiphon _Alma Redemptoris Mater_.[536] - -We gather with some certainty the amount of remuneration which was usually -given to a chantry priest for his services. John Coates, we have seen, in -1433, directs that a chaplain shall say mass for him every day for twenty -years, and shall have four pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence per -annum, besides three shillings and fourpence for wine and wax candles, and -shall engage in no other service, spiritual or temporal, on pain of his -anathema.[537] - - Richard de Croxton, 1383, leaves 50 for masses for ten years; this - would be at the rate of 5 a year. Thomas de Roos, lord of Hamlak and - Belvoir, in 1412, leaves 400 for ten chaplains to say mass in his - chapel of Belvoir, for eight years, which, again, amounts to 5 a year - to each. J. de Haddon, Canon of Lincoln, 1374, leaves 21 for two - chaplains for two years. Beatrix Hanlay, 1389, leaves 20 marks and a - silver cup to Thornton Abbey for masses, and 30 of silver to six - priests to celebrate for a year. So that it is abundantly evident that - 5 a year was the usual stipend for a chantry priest. Elizabeth Davy, - 1412, leaves cc{l.} for masses, which is to be kept in some secret - place in Lincoln Cathedral, and distributed annually to the chaplains. - - Nicholas Sturgeon, priest in 1454, bequeaths to the Church of St. - Andrew, Asperton, Herefordshire, a vestment of black for priest, - deacon, and sub-deacon of the price of 10 or within; his exequies and - obit day to be kept solemnly there during the term of seven years, for - the expenses of which he bequeaths 46_s._, that is, for every year - 6_s._ 4_d._ - -Here is a very curious example of a nun being paid to say prayers for -people living and dead: John of Leek, Rector of Houghton, 1459, leaves-- - - to Isabella Chawelton, sister of St. Katharine's, Lincoln, 40_s._ to - pray for the soul of her sister Grace, and my soul.[538] - -When we refer to the returns of the "Valor," we are confirmed in the -conclusion that 5 was the normal stipend of a chantry priest; but a few, -through the liberality of the endowment, received more, like the two -chaplains of the Black Prince's chantry with their 12 a year; and many -received less, as may be seen in the volumes of the "Valor" _passim_. - - William Rayne (of Coltisbroke, 1535), leaves to his nephew, if he - shall be ordained "a priest, to have 5 a year to sing for me for five - years, except he be at my wyf's bording and bedding, and if he soo be, - then four marks a yere."[539] - -So that a priest's board and lodging was worth 5 - 4 13_s._ 4_d._ = 2 -13_s._ 4_d._ The lodging with the widow would be consistent with the idea -that a chantry priest or annueller was a kind of chaplain to the family. -This conjecture is supported by the statute of 36 Ed. III., c. 8, which, -in consequence of the dearth of parish priests after the Black Plague, -desired to lessen the number engaged in mortuary services; it forbade any -layman to pay a priest more than 5 marks, and if retained to abide at his -table, that was to be reckoned as equal to 40_s._[540] As part of the same -policy, a constitution of Archbishop Islop, in 1362, fixed the stipend of -a chantry priest at 5 marks.[541] - -Archbishop Islip, 1362,[542] says, "We are certainly informed by common -fame and experience that modern priests, through covetousness and love of -ease, not content with reasonable salaries, demand excessive pay for their -labours, and receive it; and do so despise labour and study that they -wholly refuse as parish priests to serve in churches or chapels, or to -attend the cure of souls, though fitting salaries are offered them, and -prefer to live in a leisurely manner by celebrating annuals for the quick -and dead; and so parish churches and chapels remain unofficiated, -destitute of parochial chaplains, and even proper curates, to the grievous -danger of souls; whereupon he goes on to decree that all unbeneficed -chaplains fitted for cure of souls shall be required to put aside any -private obsequies, and officiate wherever the ordinary shall appoint them, -and at six marks of annual stipend, while priests without cure of souls -shall be content with five marks." - -These services for the dead made work for a considerable number of -clerics. Sometimes, no doubt, the parish priest celebrated the month's -mind and the obit, and perhaps the trental also; but when a competent -provision had been made for the purpose it is probable that it was usual -to employ a distinct person to fulfil the stipulated services. The -beneficed clergy are indeed accused of sometimes running away from their -own poor benefices to take engagements of this sort. "Piers Ploughman" -says:-- - - Parsons and parish preistes pleyned hem to the bisshope, - That hire parishes weren povere sith the pestilence tyme,[543] - To have a licence and leve at London to dwelle, - And syngen ther for symonie, for silver is swete. - -Chaucer says of his poor parson-- - - He sett not his benefice to hire, - And lefte his sheep accombred in the mire, - And ran unto London unto Sainte Poules,[544] - To seeken him a chanterie for souls, - Or with a Brotherhode to be withold, - But dwelt at home and kepte well his fold. - -But that some poor parsons did so, and that their bishops allowed it, we -have the evidence of the Episcopal Registers.[545] - -One result of these occasional engagements for a month, or a year, or a -few years, was that a considerable number of priests made a precarious -living in this easy way, and in many cases were not very useful members of -society or very respectable members of the clerical body.[546] - -Chaucer has introduced into his "Shipman's Tale" one of these priests -"living in a leisurely manner by celebrating annuals for the quick and -dead":-- - - In London was a priest, an annueller, - That therein dwelled hadde many a year, - Which was so pleasant and so serviceable - Unto the wife thereas he was at table, - That she would suffer him no thing to pay - For board ne lodging, went he never so gay - And spending silver had he ryht ynoil.[547] - -The ordinary chantry priest was under no canonical obligation to help the -parish priest in his general duties; but in some cases the foundation deed -of the chantry required that the cantarist should assist at Divine worship -on Sundays and festivals for the greater honour of the service; and in -some cases the priest is expressly required by his foundation deed to help -the vicar in the cure of souls, as in the parish churches of Helmsley, -Middleton, etc. - - Our Lady's chantry priest in Rothwell Church (1494), to celebrate mass - daily in chantry and other Divine service, and be in the high quire - all festival days at mattins, mass, and evensong; and to help to - minister sacraments in the parish. - - Margaret Blade, widow, endowed the chantry of our Lady in Kildewick - Parish, in 1505, for a priest to help Divine service in the quire, to - help the curate in time of necessity, and also to sing mass of our - Lady on Saturday and Sunday, "if he have convenient help."[548] - -Sometimes the chantry priest was required to say Divine service at an -unusual hour for the convenience of portions of the people; thus, at St. -Agnes, York, the chantry service had been between eleven and twelve, -unusually late, and was altered by the advice of the parishioners to an -equally abnormal early hour, viz. between four and five in the morning, as -well for their accommodation as for travelling people, who desired to hear -mass before setting out on their journey.[549] Many churches had such an -early service, called the "Morrow Mass." - - If thou have eny wey to wende, - I rede thou here a masse to ende, - In the morennynge if thou may, - Thou shalt not leose of thi travayle, - Not half a foote of wey.[550] - -Some of the chantry chapels were practically chapels-of-ease at a distance -from the parish church. For parishes having once been established, the -rights of the patrons, incumbents, parishioners, and others interested -were so safely secured by the law that it was difficult for any one to -make an alteration in the existing arrangements. Even down to the passing -of the general Church Building Acts in the present century, a private Act -of Parliament was necessary to legalize the subdivision of a parish. When -the growth of new groups of population at a distance from the parish -church made it desirable to provide the means of Divine worship and -pastoral oversight there, if the incumbent desired to make the provision, -he could do it by building chapels, and supplying them with chaplains at -his own cost, and under his own control. If a lay proprietor desired to -make the provision for the people about him, he could do it by getting the -bishop's leave to found a chantry, and the king's licence to endow it -notwithstanding the Mortmain Act. Accordingly, a number of chapels were -founded, which were technically chantry chapels, but really -chapels-of-ease for an outlying population; _e.g._ the chantries at -Brentwood, in the parish of Southweald; Billericay, in the parish of Great -Burstead; Foulness island, in the parish of Wakering; in the street of -Great Dunmow, half a mile from the parish church, all in Essex; of -Woodstock; of Quarrindon, in the parish of Barrow; of St. Giles, in the -parish of Stretton, both in Notts, were all built at a distance of a mile -or more from their parish churches. At Macclesfield, the Savage Chantry, -founded by the Archbishop of York of that name, who died 1506, was a -chapel-of-ease two miles distant from the parish church. There were a -considerable number of these outlying chantries in the extensive parishes -of Yorkshire, at distances of from half a mile to two or three miles from -the parish church, and in some cases divided from the parish church by -waters liable to be flooded; in some parishes there were two or three such -chantries; as two at Topcliff, two in Sherifholm, two in Strenshall, two -in Wath, three in Northallerton, besides a chapel seven miles off served -by the vicar's chaplain; one in each of the parishes of Helmsley, Kirby -Misperton, Malton, etc. - -In some of these chapels there was no endowment for a priest, or it was -insufficient, and the inhabitants of the villages taxed themselves -voluntarily to make up a stipend; thus, at Ayton, the rate of payment was -for a husbandman (? tenant farmer) 8_d._, a cottager with land 4_d._, a -cottager without land 2_d._ a quarter. - -Here is another similar case which presents us with quite a picture:--In -1472, the people of Haxby complain to the archdeacon that "they inhabit so -unreasonable fer from ther parisch chirche that the substance [majority] -of the said inhabitauntes for impotenseye and feblenes, farrenes of the -long way, and also for grete abundance of waters and perlouse passages at -small brigges for people in age and unweldye, bethurn these and ther nex -parische chirche, they may not come with ese or in seasonable tyme at -their saide parishe chirche, as Cristen peple should, and as they wold, -so they pray for leave and help for a chaplain of their own."[551] - - * * * * * - -A grammar school was often provided for a parish under the convenient -conditions of a chantry; the schoolmaster being a priest, it was no great -addition to his duties to require him to add to his mass prayer for his -founders; it was very natural that the boys who profited by the foundation -should also be required to join in the commemoration services for their -benefactor.[552] - -We quote the whole scheme of the foundation at Blackburn as an example of -its kind. - - In 1514, fifth year of Henry VIII., Thomas, Earl of Derby, and the - parishioners of Blackburn, each contributed lands, etc., to be held by - certain trustees for the foundation of a chantry in the church there, - in the chapel of our blessed Lady, in the south aisle there. The - chantry priest was to be "an honest seculer prest, and no reguler, - sufficiently lerned in gramer and playn song, y{f} any such can be - gotten, that shall kepe continually a fre gramer schole, and maintaine - and kepe the one syde of the quire, as one man may, in his surplice, - every holiday throughout the year." And if no secular priest can be - found that is able and sufficiently "lerned in gramer and plain song," - then they were to find "an able secular priest, who is expert, and can - sing both pricke song and plain song, and hath a sight in descant, who - shall teach a free song school in Blackburn." In all his masses he was - to pray for the good estate of the then Earl and Lady of Derby, and - their ancestors, and all benefactors to the chantry, quick or dead, - and for all Christian souls. And every Sunday and holiday in the - year, after his mass, he was to turn him to the people, and exhort - them to prayer for all the said persons, and to say "the salme _De - profundis_, with a _Paternoster_ and an _Ave Maria_, with special - suffrages after, and funeral collect, as well for the quick as for the - dead. And every Saturday and holiday he shall sing the masse of Our - Lady to note, and every quarter day he and his scholars shall sing a - solemn dirge for the souls aforesaid. And if the chantry priest shall - take any money or profit to say any trental, or otherwise to pray for - souls other than those specified in the present foundation, he shall - give half the profit towards the reparation or ornament of the said - chantry; and if he shall make default in any of his duties, he shall - pay 4_d._ for each such default, to be bestowed on the reparation and - ornamentation of the chantry." In summer he was to say his masses at 8 - a.m., and in winter at 10 a.m.[553] - - So, in 1468, Richard Hammerton endowed a chantry in the chapel of Our - Lady and St. Anne, in the church of Long Preston, co. York, "that the - incumbent should pray for the soul of the founder, help to perform - divine service in the choir in time of necessity, teach a grammar and - song school to the children of the parish, make a special obit yearly - for the soul of the founder, distribute at the same time six shillings - to the poor in bread, and make a sermon by himself or deputy once a - year."[554] - - There were four chantries in Burnley Church, and belonging to the - Townley Chantry a _parva aula_, on the west side of the - churchyard,[555] occupied as a grammar school till 1695, when another - was erected in a more convenient situation.[556] - - At Giggleswick, in Yorkshire, and at Tutthill, in the same county, - the rood chantry priest was required to be "sufficiently seen" in - plain song and grammar, and therefore, no doubt, was intended to teach - them.[557] - - The gild priest of the Jesus Gild, Prittlewell, Essex, celebrated - daily at the altar of St. Mary, in the parish church, and had also - charge of the education of the youth of the parish. - - Skipton Grammar School was founded in 1548. The appointment vested in - the vicar and churchwardens, for the time being. The master was to - teach certain Latin authors, to attend in the choir of the parish - church on all Sundays and festivals, and when service is performed by - prick song, unless hindered by some reasonable excuse; to celebrate - before seven in the morning on such days, and three other days in the - week; to be vested in a surplice, and sing or read as shall seem meet - to the vicar.[558] - - In 1529 an act passed forbidding any one after Michaelmas to receive - any stipend for singing masses for the dead; some of the patrons - proceeded to seize upon the chantry lands and furniture. Another act - on the accession of Ed. VI., put all the colleges, chantries, free - chapels, and other miscellaneous "endowments for superstitious uses" - into the hands of the king, and commissioners were appointed to search - them out and take possession of them. Some few of the chapels which - had served outlying populations continued to exist and serve their - purpose, the endowments were ruthlessly confiscated, but the - inhabitants purchased the building of the crown or the grantee, and - subscribed among themselves to provide a scanty stipend for a - curate.[559] - - Many of the grammar schools which were suppressed were refounded and - endowed as King Edward VI. Grammar Schools. - - The Returns of the Commissioners are in the Record Office, and there - is an index to them arranged under counties. The Harleian MS., 605, in - the British Museum, is also a catalogue of gilds and chantries. - - Here follow some notes, from these sources, of curious endowments-- - - Fernditch and at Ordell, Beds., for "a Lamp and a Drinking" in the - church. - - Emberton, Bucks., "for a Drinking." - - Great Horkesley, Essex; Cranfield and Steventon, Beds.; for "a Drink - for the Poor." - - Uppingham, Rutland, for "a Drinking on Rogation Day." - - Wynge, Bucks., "for Bride Ale, Child Ale, Marriages, and Dirges, with - lawful games." - - Coventry, "for a preacher." - - Townley, Suffolk, for "a Lamp and watching the Sepulchre." - - Hempstead, Essex, "for discharging the Tax of the poor who may not - have to dispend yearly above 40_s._" - - "For the Bead Roll," at Barford, Beds., Chulgrave, Polloxhill, - Richmond, Sondon, Wichhampstead, Eston, Dorlaston. - - "For finding a Conduit," at St. Mary Aldermary. - - "For repairing Roads and Bridges," in several places. - - "For the Poor," in several places. - - At Hendry and at Wingfield, Suffolk, "for setting out Soldiers." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -GILDS. - - -The voluntary societies or fraternities called "gilds," which were -numerous all over Christian Europe in the Middle Ages, were established -for mutual help and comfort in the various exigencies of life--in -sickness, old age, poverty (if not the result of misconduct), in wrongful -imprisonment, in losses by fire, water, or shipwreck.[560] So far it was -a benefit club. But the gild had always a religious basis. It usually put -itself under the name and protection of the Holy Trinity or of some saint. -Once a year, at least, it took measures to have a special service held on -its behalf in church, which all the members attended, habited in the -livery of the gild; thence it proceeded to its hall or meeting-place for -the annual business meeting; and afterwards held its annual feast. The -mutual help and comfort embraced the spiritual side of life, and included -mutual prayers for the living and the dead. Especially, the gild made much -of the burial of its members, which was conducted with great solemnity; -all the members were bound to attend the funeral; and provision was made -for the continual offering of masses for the welfare of the living, and -the repose of their departed brothers and sisters.[561] - -The trade gilds had for their chief aim the regulation and protection of -their particular trade; their laws included the regulation of freemen, -apprentices, etc.; the quality, etc., of their goods; and constituted a -trade monopoly. But the trade gild always embraced the usual social and -religious features above mentioned. - -The great trade gilds were often powerful and wealthy corporations; their -members made bequests to them of lands and tenements; they used their -commercial talent and ready money in making purchases of other property -which added to their corporate wealth. They built handsome gild halls as -the visible manifestation of their importance; all the members wore gowns -of the same material, colour, and fashion; their officers, masters, and -wardens were distinguished by great silver-gilt maces borne before them, -and by chains and badges round their shoulders; they took pride in the -splendour of their pageantry in the public processions and functions. They -prided themselves also on the value of their plate, mostly gifts from -their own members, or gifts from great persons; on the sumptuousness of -their hospitality; and also on the useful institutions which they -maintained--hospitals, schools, almshouses; on their gifts to the poor; -and on their liberal contributions on great occasions of public need. -Some of them had their own chapel, or at least constant special services -in church, conducted by their own chaplain or chaplains. - - Some of the gilds were organizations not so much for mutual benefit or - the regulation of trade as for the foundation and conduct of - enterprises for the benefit of the whole community; for promoting the - glory of God, and increasing the number of services and the means of - grace, for the population of the town; for founding a hospital or - grammar school; for building and repairing bridges and highways, and - the like. - - The Gild at Ludlow had seven chaplains, and maintained also two - deacons and four choristers to sing divine service in the parish - church. It supported a grammar school, an almshouse for thirty-two - poor people, and bestowed liberal gifts on the poor. - - The Kalendar Gild of Bristol dated from before the Norman Conquest. In - answer to inquiries made in 1387, the gild stated that in the twelfth - century it had founded a school for Jews and others, to be brought up - in Christianity, under the care of the said fraternity, which school - it still maintained.[562] - - At York there was a Gild of the Lord's Prayer. It arose in this way: - at some date unknown, but before the year 1387, a Miracle Play of the - Lord's Prayer had been performed in York, in which all manner of vices - and sins were held up to scorn, and the virtues held up to praise. The - play met with so great favour that a gild was founded for the purpose - of keeping up the annual performance of the play. The gild had the - usual charitable and religious features; but, besides, the members - were bound to illustrate in their lives the scorn of vice and the - praise of virtue, which were the objects of the play, and to shun - company and business which were unworthy. The gild maintained a - candelabrum of seven lights to hang in York Minster, to be lighted on - all Sundays and feast days, in token of the seven supplications of the - Lord's Prayer, to the honour and glory of Almighty God, the Maker of - that Prayer. And they maintained a tablet, showing the whole meaning - and use of the Lord's Prayer, hanging against a pillar of the minster, - near the aforesaid candelabrum. Whenever the play was performed in - York, the gild were to ride with the players through the principal - streets, clad in one suit, and to keep order during the play. - - The Corpus Christi Gild at York seems to have been founded by some of - the clergy specially for the purpose of organizing a great annual - function in honour of the Eucharist. On the day from which the gild - took its name, a great procession was made through the streets of the - city, headed by priests in surplices, and the six masters of the gild - bearing white wands; the craft gilds of the city followed, exhibiting - pageants. In 1415, ninety-six crafts took part in the procession, of - which fifty-four exhibited pageants of subjects from the Bible, and - ten carried torches. A great folio volume, now in the British Museum, - contains the roll of its brethren and sisters, of all ranks, about - 14,850 in number. The two gilds of St. Christopher and St. George, - York, had a "Guylde Hall," and maintained and repaired certain stone - bridges and highways, and gave relief to certain poor people, but "had - no spiritual promotion whereby the King should have firstfruits and - tenths."[563] The Earl and Countess of Northumberland were brother - and sister of this gild, and their annual payment to it was 6_s._ - 8_d._ each, and 6_s._ 8_d._ more for their livery.[564] - - St. George's Gild at Norwich, founded in 1385, in close connection - with the corporation of the city, was another famous gild, numbering - thousands of brethren and sisters, among them some of the East Anglian - nobility. They had a stately equestrian procession, with pageants, on - St. George's Day. - -Chaucer has not overlooked this feature of the social life of his period. -Among the "Canterbury Pilgrims"-- - - An Haberdasher and a Carpenter, - A Webber, a Dyer, and a Tapeser, - Were all yclothed in o liverie - Of a solempne, and grete fraternity. - - In 1404 the Gild of the Holy Trinity was established in Worcester by - Henry IV. The chantry which had been founded in the reign of Edward - III. was slightly altered from its original purpose; a perpetual - chantry of three monks was appointed to sing masses for the soul of - Henry, while the priest of the original foundation was required to - assist the parson and curator of the parish church, "because it doth - abound in houseling people," as well as to sing mass at his own - altar.[565] - - The bailiffs and commonalty of Birmingham in 1392, on the basis of a - chantry originally founded in the time of Henry II., founded the Gild - of the Holy Cross, with chaplains to celebrate Divine service in the - Church of St. Martin, for the town contained two thousand houseling - people; to keep in repair two great stone bridges and divers foul and - dangerous ways; to maintain almshouses for twelve poor persons, and - other charities. It built a great public hall, which was called - indifferently the Town Hall or the Gild Hall.[566] - -We find in the "Calendar of Chantries," etc., and also in the "Valor -Ecclesiasticus," a number of endowed "services," under the same kind of -saintly designation as the chantries, _e.g._ our Lady's Service, St. -Anne's, St. Catherine's, St. John's, the Rood, Trinity, etc.; sometimes, -also, like some of the chantries, they are recorded under a surname, which -it seems probable was that of the founder, as _e.g._ at Bristol, William's -Service, Foster's, Pollard's, Jones's, Henry's, Forthey's. - -The payment for these services seems usually to have come through the -hands of a warden or of feoffees, and we suppose that they were usually -maintained by a gild or fraternity. - - At Our Lady's altar in Rotherham Church, "divers well-disposed - persons" founded a chaplaincy to sing "mass of Our Lady every Saturday - at eight o'clock." The Rood Chantry in Skipton Church was founded for - a priest to say mass "every day when he is disposed" (does not that - mean when he is not, as we say, indisposed, _i.e._ when he is not - hindered by sickness?), "at six in summer and seven in winter, for the - purpose that as well the inhabitants of the town as Kendal men and - strangers should hear the same." - - The mayor and his brethren at Pontefract provided a chaplain to survey - the amending of the highways, and to say the "morrow mass," which was - over by 5 a.m. Also a chaplain of Our Lady to say mass at 8 a.m., and - another in the chantry of Our Lady in St. Giles's Chapel-of-ease - there, to sing mass daily "for the ease of the inhabitants." There was - also a "Rushworth chaplain" at St. Thomas's Chantry, in the parish - church. - - In Wakefield Church the parishioners ordained a "morrow mass" at 5 - a.m. for all servants and labourers in the parish. - -There was a strong likeness between chantries and services; but while the -chief object of a chantry was to obtain prayers for the departed, and it -was only incidentally that it supplied additional opportunities of Divine -worship, the service seems to have been intended specially to maintain an -additional and probably a grander public service for the glory of God and -the help of the spiritual life of the inhabitants of a parish or town, -while prayers for the founders and benefactors were only a minor incident -of the foundation. Here are a few notes on the stipends of the chaplains, -the hire of chapels for the services, etc. - -In the "Calendar of Chantries," etc., there are recorded 107 services, of -which 64 are in Gloucestershire, 12 in Herefordshire, 7 in Chester, 5 in -Yorkshire, 4 in Shropshire, 3 in Derbyshire, 2 in Staffordshire, and 2 in -Somerset, 1 each in Dorset, Durham, Essex, and Wilts, and 4 in Wales. -There are a few entries of "Stipendiaries of our Lady," who were probably -priests serving "Services of our Lady." - -There was a service in the parish church of St. Ellen, Worcester; the -chaplain "_exercens_" the "_servicium_" of the Blessed Virgin there -received by the hands of the wardens of the said "_servicium_," 45_s._, -and he received 75_s._ more from the benevolence and charity of the -parishioners there. In the same church was a Service of St. Katharine, for -"_exercens_" which the chaplain received from the wardens a clear stipend -of 5 1_s._ 11-1/2_d._[567] - -The Vicar of Cirencester received payments from the Feoffees of the -service of the Name of Jesus for the use of a chapel, 6; from the wardens -of the service of St. Christopher, for the use of a chapel, 6 0_s._ -5_d._; from the Feoffees of the Fraternity of St. Katharine, 9_s._ 9_d._; -and from the Feoffees of the Fraternity of St. John Baptist, 17_s._ We -have already seen in the chapter on Chantries,[568] that in villages the -people sometimes provided services for themselves, which might be classed -with these. - -In the fifteenth century every market town had one or more gilds,[569] not -necessarily with the costly adjuncts of a hall for their meetings, and a -chaplain and services of their own in church, but each with its charities, -and social customs, and always with its annual service and festival. Even -in many villages and rural parishes a gild helped to draw neighbours -together into friendly association, organized their charities, and -stimulated their village festivities. Even the humblest of them had its -little fund, formed by the annual subscriptions of the members, and -perhaps a little "stock"[570] of a few cows or sheep fed on the common -pasture, the profit of which swelled the common fund of the gild, out of -which they helped a member in a strait, and gave alms to their poor. They -made much of the funerals of their departed members, following them in a -long procession. The humblest had a few cooking utensils, and pots, and -pans, and pewter dishes and plates[571] for their convivial meetings, and -perhaps a mazer with a silver rim as the loving cup, out of which they -drank to one another's health and prosperity; and on their annual feast -day the vicar said a special mass for them, and preached them a sermon. - -The suppression of all these gilds on the pretext of their prayers for -their deceased members, and the confiscation of their property (except in -London, whose great Trading Gilds were too powerful to be meddled with), -was the very meanest and most inexcusable of the plunderings which threw -discredit upon the Reformation. - - * * * * * - -We have some general reflections to make on these three chapters on -Domestic Chaplains, Chantries, and Gilds. - -The appropriation of so many parochial benefices to the religious houses -in the twelfth century had greatly reduced the provision for the parochial -clergy on whom the burden of the parochial care of the people rested. The -institution during the thirteenth century of vicars in the appropriated -parishes, with perpetuity of tenure, fixed endowment, and responsibility -to the bishop, had done something to alleviate the evil. The institution -of the orders of friars in the same thirteenth century had effected a -great revival of religion; and when the work of the new order had settled -down to its normal level it still supplied a valuable auxiliary of -religion among the lower classes of the population. By the end of the -thirteenth century things had settled down. Very few new monasteries were -founded after the twelfth century; very few friaries after the thirteenth -century. - -Of the rural benefices many were in the hands of rectors in minor orders -who employed chaplains at such stipends as they could agree with them to -accept. Many in the hands of absentee and pluralist rectors were similarly -served by parish chaplains. The remainder were served by vicars whose -endowments we have seen were small. The natural result of such a state of -things must have been that a great proportion of the rural parishes were -taught and tended by vicars and parish chaplains who might be good men, -doing their duty to the best of their ability, but not always men of the -breeding and learning which would make them very suitable pastors for the -country gentry and their families. It seems probable that, in the fashion -which sprung up among the country gentry at the close of the thirteenth -century, and continued through the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, of -founding chantries, and entertaining domestic chaplains, the gentry were -seeking to provide for themselves and their families additional and -sometimes more acceptable spiritual teachers and guides. A wealthy lord -sometimes met the difficulty by converting the parish church into a -collegiate church, with a considerable clerical staff adequately endowed. - -In the ancient towns, we have seen the parishes were small and their -endowments miserable. In the more modern towns, which had grown into great -towns, with the general increase of the population and its tendency then, -as now, to gravitate into the towns, the one vicar of the one parish -church was often quite unable to cope with the spiritual needs of a large -and difficult flock; and the townspeople themselves sometimes made better -provision for their own spiritual needs. The gilds, which provided two or -three or half a dozen chaplains with singing boys to conduct service in -the parish church, were clearly providing for a more dignified service for -the honour of God than the vicar and his clerk could offer; the _Servicia_ -called by the name of this and that saint, seem to have been intended to -multiply the number of services for the greater convenience of the people. -The gild chaplains would certainly be expected to undertake special -personal ministrations--without infringing on the legal rights of the -vicar--to the brothers and sisters of their gild. It is very interesting -to see that the people thus set themselves to supplement the deficiencies -of the ecclesiastical organization, by providing for their own spiritual -needs. It reminds us of the way in which, in more modern times, earnest -people supplied the deficiencies in the supply of their spiritual cravings -by holding "prophecyings" in the time of Elizabeth, and by the foundation -of lectureships in the parish churches in the time of the Georges. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE MEDIVAL TOWNS. - - -A typical medival town must have been wonderfully picturesque. As the -traveller came in sight of it at a little distance its grey embattled -walls, rising sheer out of the surrounding green meadows, were diversified -in elevation and sky-line by projecting wall towers; and numerous spires -and towers of churches appeared over the walls.[572] - -As he rode nearer, the great gate tower, with its outwork the barbican, -formed a picturesque architectural group, and spoke of the strength of the -defences of the town and the security of its inhabitants. He entered over -sounding drawbridge, through the echoing vault of the gate; and so into -narrow streets of gabled timber houses, with overhanging upper stories, -interlacing beams, and quaint carvings and finials; past frequent -churches, hospitals, gild-halls; to the cross in the middle of the -market-place. - -[Illustration: Micklegate Bar, York.] - -The people he saw in the streets were in picturesque costumes of all -colours and fashions: a cavalcade of a knight, in flashing armour, with a -squire carrying his helm and spear and two or three yeomen in buff-coats -and helmets behind him; a monk in his flowing black benedictine robe; a -couple of Franciscan Friars in their grey gowns rope-girdled; a parish -priest or cantarist returning from his service; the citizens in dress -which indicated their quality--some in their burgess gowns, others in the -livery of their gild; the shopmen at their open booths at work at their -craft and soliciting the passers-by, "What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? Buy, -buy, buy, buy!" In the central market-place the traveller found crowds of -the country-people grouped round the market cross with their panniers of -country produce, and the housekeepers of the town busily cheapening their -goods. - - * * * * * - -When we apply ourselves to the consideration of the ecclesiastical history -of the towns, we have to bear in mind their various origins. Nearly all -the towns which the Romans left when they evacuated the Province of -Britain were stormed and sacked by the Teutonic invaders, and left ruined -and empty. But as the Saxon settlers grew in numbers, wealth, and -civilization, the force of circumstances must have led to the reoccupation -of a number of these towns; for some were at the natural harbours, some at -convenient points on the lines of internal traffic; and so new towns of -timber houses arose within the old Roman walls. Other towns of later -origin grew up about the chief residence of a Saxon king, or, later still, -of a Norman noble; or about a cathedral or great monastery; later still, -at the convenient centre of the trade of a fertile district, or where -natural advantages encouraged the growth of a manufacture. - -The parochial history of the towns is very obscure. The facts point to the -conclusion that the origin of parishes here was the same as in the -country. There the lord of an estate built a church and provided a -maintenance for a priest to minister to his family and dependents; and the -priest's spiritual authority was conterminous with the area of his -patron's civil jurisdiction; _i.e._ the estates were the parishes. The -ancient towns, it is found, were frequently divided between several -principal proprietors, who had rights of jurisdiction over their own land -and the people living on it. The facts seem to indicate that the lords of -these sokes, or peculiar jurisdictions, usually--like a country thane in -his manor--built a church, and provided a maintenance for a priest to -minister to his own family and people; and that these sokes became the -parishes of the town. - -The great landowners of Saxon or Norman times very frequently had a -residence in the chief town of the county in which their principal estates -were situated; a custom which continued so long that it is not yet -forgotten how the great county families used to have their houses in their -county town. But the residence of a great Saxon or Norman lord was the -home of a numerous household, and the lord's dignity required that he -should have a chapel and a priest of his own. This perhaps is the -explanation of the fact that there were numerous chapels in many of the -oldest towns. - -In borough towns the community of burgesses, it is probable, usually made -provision for the religious wants of that part of the population which was -not in any of the peculiar jurisdictions above mentioned, or within the -walls of the residences of the nobles; and we find groups of burgesses, -and individual burgesses, possessing a church, in the sense of having the -rights and responsibilities of patrons. The result of this origin of town -parishes was that many of the older towns had a number of parish churches -which seems to us out of all proportion to the number of their population; -it was never a question of how many churches were needed for a town of -such-and-such a population; the question was how many lords there were who -felt bound, in their own opinion and that of the time, to provide for -Divine worship and pastoral care for their own people.[573] - -A few actual examples will illustrate these general observations. - -NORWICH, at the end of the Saxon period, was one of the greatest towns in -the kingdom, containing 1320 burgesses. The king, Archbishop Stigand in -private property, and Earl Harold were the principal lords. The king's -burgesses had two churches in the burgh and one-sixth of a third church; -the earl's tenants had the Church of All Saints; and Stigand had two -churches, St. Michael's and St. Martin's. The burgesses held fifteen -churches; and twelve burgesses held Holy Trinity Church (the Conqueror -afterwards gave it to the Bishop of the Diocese); the Abbot of St. Edmund -had a house and the mediety of the Church of St. Lawrence. The Church of -SS. Simon and Jude was held successively by Aylmer, the last Saxon bishop, -and by Herbert, the first Norman bishop, and by Bishop William, who came -after him, and must therefore have belonged to the see. The Domesday -Survey also enters forty-three chapels as belonging to the burgesses at -the time of the Survey, of the existence of which, in King Edward's time, -there is no mention; and yet Norwich had suffered much in the political -changes of the time, the number of its burgesses being reduced to half -their number in the time of King Edward. - -It seems clear that each owner of a separate jurisdiction or soke, king, -earl, Stigand, bishop, and abbot, had a church for his own people; that -the burgesses as a community had provided fifteen other churches in the -town, that another church was held by a group of twelve burgesses, -associated, perhaps, in a gild, and making provision for their own -spiritual needs. There were, thus, at least twenty-five churches in Saxon -times; in the Conqueror's time Domesday Book enumerates fifty-four -churches and chapels; at the end of the thirteenth century, the "Taxatio" -records forty-five; and just before the Reformation, the "Valor" names the -cathedral, the collegiate church of St. Mary in the Fields, the two -hospitals of St. Giles, Tombland, the rectory of SS. Edward, Julian, and -Clement, thirty-seven vicarages, and one free chapel of St. -Katharine.[574] - -Of the parochial history of LONDON very little is known. At the end of the -Saxon period the Church of St. Paul seems to have been surrounded by a few -chapels under the jurisdiction of the Cathedral body, and served by -Chaplains. St. Peter, Cornhill, seems to have been the church of the -bishop's soke. A number of churches seem to have been built in the twelfth -century by owners of property, of whom several were priests:--"There can -be little doubt that St. Martin Orgars, and St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, -were built by Orgar, a wealthy alderman; and that St. John Zachary, -St. Andrew Hubbard, St. Katharine Colman, St. Benet Fink, St. Lawrence -Pountney, and other names affixed to churches, commemorate founders, -builders, or restorers, chiefly of the early part of the twelfth century. -In the time of Henry I., the chapter assigned a parish to the Church of -St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street, of which one Geoffrey, a priest, was the -owner, and his son Bartholomew his successor." - -[Illustration: NORWICH, FROM G. BRAUN'S URBIUM PRAECIPUARUM TOTIUS MUNDI, -LIB. III, pl. 1. A.D. 1573.] - -[Illustration: Environs of London, reproduced from a fragmentary tapestry -map executed at Weston, Warwickshire, circ. 1570.] - -"Many of those parish churches were of very modest dimensions, some of -them only chapels to the great house by whose lord they were built. The -steeple and chancel of All Hallows the Less stood over the gateway of Cold -Harbour, the parish being, in fact, the estate of the Pountney family, and -divided by them from All Hallows the Great. St. Mary Cole Church was over -the gateway of the hospital of St. Thomas of Acon in Cheap. St. Mildred -Poultry, and St. John, were both built on arches over the Wallbrook."[575] - -Of several other churches the founders are known: the canons of St. Martin -built St. Leonard and St. Vedast; the Grey Friars of Newgate Street built -St. Ewen and St. Nicholas; Robert the son of Ralph the son of Herluin -built St. Michael le Querne; Alfune, the friend of Rahere, founder of St. -Bartholomew's, built St. Giles, and Aelmund the priest, with his son Hugh, -gave it to St. Paul's. - -There are indications of the subdivision of parishes, probably as a -consequence of the subdivision of properties by inheritance or sale. Thus -St. Mary Aldermary seems to have been the original church of a parish -which was afterwards subdivided, the original dedication being retained in -the new churches, but with some distinctive affix, as St. Mary le Bow, St. -Mary Abchurch, St. Mary Woolnoth, St. Mary Woolchurch, St. Mary Bothaw, -St. Mary Colechurch, St. Mary Aldermanbury, and St. Mary Staining; All -Hallows the Great and the Less already mentioned; St. Nicholas Olave, and -St. Nicholas Cole Abbey; St. Katharine Colman, and St. Katharine Cree. - -There is a church dedicated to St. Botolph at each of four of the city -gates: Aldersgate, Bishopsgate, Aldgate, and Billingsgate. - -Wm. FitzStephen, in his biography of Becket, states that, in his time, -London possessed 13 conventual, and 126 parish churches. - -Fabyan's "Chronicle," A.D. 1516, gives the sum of the parish churches -within London as 113; houses of religion and others being not parish -churches, 27; in Westminster and other places around the city, including -Southwark, without the walls, 28; the sum of all the Divine houses within -the city and without, 168. - -Lastly, we get valuable suggestions as to the source of the incomes of the -town clergy. In London, the parochial clergy had no tithe and glebe land; -their incomes were derived from customary payments, called donations, -which had been paid time out of mind from the houses and shops in -proportion to their rent. In consequence of some disputes, they were -inquired into and confirmed by Bishop Roger, about A.D. 1230, and amounted -to about 3_s._ 6_d._ in the pound of the rent. The clergy received, -besides, fees for services on many occasions; what these were we learn -from some proceedings in the Star Chamber in 1534-- - - For _Weddings_: Laid on the book, 8_d._; three tapers, 3_d._; and the - whole offering at mass. If married before high mass, 20_d._, or - 40_d._, or 60_d._, or more. For a certificate when the man dwelt in - another parish, 12_d._, or 20_d._, or 40_d._, according to ability. - - For _Burials_: 12_d._ or more, and every priest in the church, 8_d._ - or more, or they do not sing him to his burial. At every month's mind, - year's mind, or obit, the curate has 8_d._ or 12_d._, all the wax - tapers and wax branches used at the funeral; for privy tithes, 20_d._, - or 40_d._, or 5_s._, or 20_s._, or 40_s._, or more. To the high altar - as much for personal tithe. If buried out of his parish, the corpse - must first be presented in his own church with dirge and mass. For - burial in the chancel or high quire, 10_s._ to 40_s._, or more. - - For _Churchings_: For every Sunday when the woman lieth in for saying - a gospel, 1_d._ or 2_d._; at purification the taper, 1_d._, with the - chrisome, and the whole offering by all the women at mass, 2_d._ - - _Beadroll_: If any will have his friends prayed for in the beadroll, - the curate hath by year 4_d._, or 8_d._, or more. - - _At Easter_: Of men's wives, children, and apprentices, for their - communion at Easter, for every head, 2_d._ - - _Tithes of Servants' Wages_: The tenth part and for their housel at - Easter, 1_d._ At all principal feasts divers offer, some wax, some - money, which comes to the parson's use. - - Where a Saint's image stands without the quire to which a Brotherhood - belongeth, the wardens of the brotherhood compound some for 3_s._ - 4_d._, 5_s._, 6_s._ 8_d._, or more, per annum, to have the Brotherhood - kept in the Church (see p. 482). - - The lords reduced the tithes on houses to 2_s._ 9_d._ in the pound, - but confirmed the above customary fees and payments.[576] - -The ancient city of EXETER became the see of the Devonshire Bishopric in -1049-50, when Bishop Leofric moved thither from Crediton; and seems at the -time of the Norman Conquest to have had its cathedral church and a number -of chapels. A religious foundation of Gytha was granted by the Conqueror -to Battle Abbey; it received additional endowments, and grew into a -considerable priory, still receiving its priors from the parent house, and -paying a pension to it. A second small alien Priory of St. James was -founded without the walls. The Castle Chapel was a detached building with -nave and aisle, and was served by three prebends with no dean or head, and -the patronage was attached to the Barony of Okehampton. The bishops had an -almshouse perhaps from the days of Leofric; in 1170 a citizen founded a -hospital of St. Alexius; and the two were in 1225 merged in the hospital -of St. John by the East Gate. A leper hospital was founded outside the -South Gate, and its inmates were forbidden to enter the city. A convent of -Franciscans was founded between 1220 and 1240, and a convent of Dominicans -about the same time. - -In the early part of the thirteenth century there seems to have been some -arrangement of the parochial organization of the city. For in the reign -of King John, we learn from the will of Peter de Paterna and Isabel his -wife, who bequeathed 1_d._ to each of them, that there were twenty-eight -chapels in the city of Exeter. In the year 1222 there was a settlement of -the parish churches which were fixed at the number of 19.[577] The names -of all these parish churches are found in the list of chapels previously -existing, and some of the chapels are not included among the parish -churches.[578] - -[Illustration: EXETER, FROM G. BRAUN'S URBIUM PRAECIPUARUM MUNDI THEATRUM, -LIB. 5, pl. 1. A.D. 1573.] - -BRISTOL affords us an example of a town whose ecclesiastical organization -grew with the gradual increase of the town, in a way which can be more or -less clearly made out. Bristol was a member of the Royal Manor of Barton. -At an early date, probably in Heptarchic times, a town grew up on the -peninsula between the river Avon and its tributary the Frome; the -existence of silver pennies of Ethelred the Unready, which were coined -here, shows that it was at that time a burgh with the usual privilege of a -mint. The reader will remember that it was the principal seaport of the -western coast, and the principal emporium of the slave-trade in Saxon men, -women, and children until Bishop Wulstan succeeded with difficulty in -suppressing the nefarious traffic. - -The Church of St. Peter is said by tradition to have been the earliest -church in Bristol; and there are reasons for thinking that it actually was -the church provided by the Crown as lord of the manor for the use of its -tenants there. The dedication of St. Werburg indicates that this church -was also of Saxon date. The burgh was divided by two main streets, -crossing at right angles in the middle of the town; the churches of St. -Ewan, All Saints, and Holy Trinity (or Christ Church), stand in the angles -made by the Carfax, and their parishes meet at this point, as though there -had been a considerable addition to the population of the burgh, and the -cross roads had been made, the parishes marked out, and the three churches -built simultaneously. - -The Conquest was followed by an age of church-building in Bristol; the -Bishop of Coutances built a castle with a chapel, outside the town on the -east; new Norman lords rebuilt some of the parish churches. The new church -of St. Mary le Port was built by William, Earl of Gloucester, before 1176. -Robert, Earl of Gloucester, founded a Benedictine Priory outside the town, -on the north. A little later Robert Fitz-Harding founded a Convent of -Augustinian Canons on the other side of the River Frome, west of the town. -A small nunnery was founded in 1173 by Eva, wife of W. Fitz-Harding, who -became the first abbess. The first part of the thirteenth century was a -time of great religious activity, and now and henceforth the work was done -not by royal and noble founders, but by the zeal of the people themselves. -A Dominican Friary[579] was founded in 1230, just outside the suburb east -of the castle; the Carmelites were planted in "the fairest of the houses -of the friars" (Leland), where Colston's Hall now stands; the Franciscans -in the suburb beyond the Frome on the north-west; and there was a hospital -of Bonhommes, now the mayor's chapel. - -[Illustration: BRISTOL, FROM G. BRAUN'S URBIUM PRAECIPUARUM TOTIUS MUNDI, -LIB. III, pl. 2. A.D. 1573.] - -In course of time some of these foundations attracted groups of people -about them, whose houses grew into suburbs of the town. One suburb grew up -around the castle on the south-east, and the spiritual wants of its people -were supplied by the building among them of the new church of SS. -Philip and James.[580] Another group of people settled about the priory, -on the north, and attended service in the nave of the priory church, until -at length the monks separated off the nave from the choir, and abandoned -it to the people as their parish church, which still exists. The Austin -Canons attracted still another group who formed a suburb on the -south-west; and after a while the canons built the Church of St. Augustine -the Less for their tenants.[581] - -In the reign of Henry III. the townspeople enlarged their limits by -enclosing a tract on the south within a new wall. The new space was -gradually filled with streets of houses, and St. Stephen's Church seems to -have been built for the use of this new quarter. - -[Illustration: Bristol Cathedral.] - -Bristol grew not only by the enlargement of its own borders, but by the -annexation of adjoining districts, which already had their own civil -jurisdictions and ecclesiastical organizations. On the other side of the -Avon were two districts which had been growing in population and -commercial importance. One of these was the estate which Robert, Earl of -Gloucester, had given in 1145 to the Knights of the Temple; its parish -church was dedicated to the Holy Cross; and there was a house of Austin -Friars within the parish. Adjoining the Temple Fee lay the Manor of -Redcliff, in Bedminster, belonging to the Fitz-Hardings, with its chapel -of St. Thomas, first mentioned in 1232. By the end of the twelfth century -Bristol had, after a sort, spread itself over both Temple and Redcliffe, -and a charter of 1188 included them in the privileges granted to Bristol. -In 1240 a stone bridge was built which connected the two sides of the -river; and a new wall and ditch from one angle of the river to the other -(see the plan) enclosed the two districts on the southern side, and bound -them by a series of fortifications, continuous with those of the northern -side, into one great town. The necessary legal measures incorporated the -groups into one borough. - -The Bristol merchants were wealthy and magnificent. The great merchant -Canynges rebuilt the greater part of the noble Church of St. Mary -Redcliffe; others adorned the town, and added to its religious -opportunities by founding chapels for special services; others built -hospitals and almshouses; others founded chantries in various churches. -Thus the vill of the Saxon kings, with its one church, grew at last into -the great city which at the time of the Reformation possessed the list of -ecclesiastical foundations named below with references to the plan.[582] - -YORK may well be taken as a typical cathedral town. The high altar of the -great Minster Church stood directly over the well in which Edwin the first -Christian King of the Northumbrians and his thanes were baptized. The -first Norman archbishop rebuilt the church and reorganized its chapter -with a dean, precentor, chancellor, and treasurer, 36 prebendaries, and 36 -vicars choral. By the end of the fifteenth century the chantries numbered -about 60; and 36 chantry priests were incorporated into a community, and -lived in St. William's College, which was originally the prebendal house -of the Prior of Hexham. - -The Benedictine Abbey of St. Mary was founded near the cathedral between -1080 and 1090, and there were two other Benedictine foundations in the -city early in the twelfth century, the Priory of Holy Trinity in -Micklegate, and the little nunnery of Clementhorpe, and also the -Premonstratensian House of St. Andrew. - -[Illustration: York Minster--south-west view.] - -St. Leonard's Hospital was a grand foundation by Athelstan, after his -great northern victory in 936, to enable the cathedral clergy to relieve -the needy and maintain hospitality. In 1280 it had an income of nearly -11,000 (perhaps equal to 200,000 of modern money), and had in its -infirmary 229 men and women, and in its orphanage 23 boys. In 1293 it gave -away every week at the gate 232 loaves and 256 herrings; it distributed -every Sunday 33 dinners and 14 gallons of beer, and 8 dinners for lepers, -and to every prisoner in the castle (at that time 310) a small loaf. It -maintained 26 obits in commemoration of benefactors. - -Another hospital, St. Mary Magdalene, was founded by the Dean of York, -1330, for a master, two chaplains, and six infirm or aged priests. There -was a hospital for lepers at St. Nicholas, on the Hull Road. All the -guilds had small almshouses attached. At the gate of every religious house -a daily distribution of gifts to the poor was made. There were many -beggars, who were put under charge of four headmen. - -It was the principal and most populous city of the north, and in 1377 its -population was about 11,000. In the reign of Henry V. there were forty-one -parish churches, none of any considerable size, and a large number of -chapels. The number of its clergy, regular and secular, was not less than -500.[583] - -At the end of the medival period we learn from the "Valor" that few of -the incumbents of the parishes of the city of York had any income besides -personal tithes (_i.e._ the Easter dues), and the oblations of the "three -days" then customary, and casual oblations; out of which some of them had -to pay pensions to the Convent of St. Mary. - - _E.g._ the Rector of St. Michael by Ouse Bridge had personal tithe - 10, and casual oblations 20_s._ = 11; out of which he had to pay a - pension to St. Mary's Abbey of 36_s._, for synodals to the archbishop - 5_s._ 4_d._, to the archdeacon for procuration 6_s._ 8_d._, leaving - him net 8 12_s._ The Rector of St. Cross, Fossgate, had personal - tithe in Lent time 7 8_s._, casual oblations 6_s._ 8_d._, oblations - on the two days customary there, 22_s._--total 8 16_s._ 8_d._, out of - which he had to pay 20_s._ to St. Mary's Abbey, 3_s._ 6_d._ synodals, - and 6_s._ 8_d._ procuration, leaving clear income of 7 6_s._ 6_d._ - -IPSWICH in King Edward's time had 538 burgesses; the Church of Holy -Trinity, two dedicated to St. Mary, and the Churches of St. Michael, St. -Botolph, St. Lawrence, St. Peter, and St. Stephen are mentioned in -Domesday; three of these belonged to priests, and others were in lay -patronage; Culling, a burgess, had one of the St. Maries; Lefflet, a -freewoman, had St. Lawrence; Roger de Ramis held a church dedicated to St. -George, with four burgesses and six wasted mansions; Aluric, the son of -Rolf, a burgess (and also a vavasor, holding lands in Suffolk), had the -Church of St. Julian; five burgesses belonged to the Church of St. Peter; -Walter the Deacon held five houses and three waste mansions.[584] - - In the "Taxatio" the following is the value of the - benefices:--Caldwell, 4 13_s._ 4_d._; St. Clement, 6 13_s._ 4_d._; - St. Margaret, 4 13_s._ 4_d._; St. Mary at the Tower, 3 6_s._ 8_d._; - St. Lawrence, 3 6_s._ 8_d._; St. Mary Hulme, 1; St. Nichl. - (Michael?), 1 10_s._; St. Peter, 4; Stoke, 10. The Priory had at - the Reformation an income of 88 6_s._ 9_d._; St. Ellen was worth 8 - 13_s._ 7_d._; St. Stephen, 4 12_s._ 8_d._; Stoke, 12; St. Matthew, - 5; the Daundy chantry[585] in St. Lawrence worth 6 10_s._ 8_d._ - -In 1177 a convent of Austin Canons was founded in the Church of Holy -Trinity, and shortly afterwards another convent of the same order in the -Church of St. Peter; and in course of time all the parishes of the town, -except Stoke, which was on the other side of the river, were appropriated -to one or other of these two convents. Only one new parish church of St. -Matthew sprang up between the Conquest and the Reformation. A Convent of -Dominican Friars was founded here in 1270, and gained so much acceptance -among the better classes that most of the great people of the town were -buried in its cemetery. The Franciscan Friars were established here in -1297.[586] There were also three leper hospitals in the town, and an -almshouse, and one chantry in the Church of St. Lawrence.[587] - - * * * * * - -In not a few cases a great abbey was the origin of the existence of a -town. Peterborough, St. Edmund's Bury, and St. Alban's, carry the fact in -their names; and there are many others, as Burton, Wenlock, etc., etc. The -abbey employed labourers and artificers, who settled in a convenient site -under its shadow. If near a high-road, there was a frequent coming and -going of travellers of various ranks, who halted for the night, and -perhaps remained for a day or two. The abbey would be sure to obtain for -its rising town the grant of a weekly market and annual fair. The abbey -was the landlord of the ground on which the town was gradually growing; -and a wise abbot would encourage the settlement of people in his burgh, -build houses, make roads, maintain bridges, build churches, and provide -schools. - -Then there came a time when the citizens of the towns of England sought to -obtain release from feudal claims and jurisdictions, and the right of -self-government; the kings encouraged the rising municipalities, seeing in -them allies for the Crown against the nobles, and gave them charters -freely; and the citizens in many cases bought out the manorial rights of -private owners. But bishops and monasteries, while not unwilling to give -their tenants the right of association into gilds for the regulation of -their trades, were unwilling to resign the rights and jurisdiction which -they had exercised from the beginning in their lordship. We add two or -three illustrations of the ecclesiastical life of towns founded by bishops -and abbots. - -The Benedictine Abbey of Burton was founded by Ulfric Spot, Earl of -Mercia, about 1002, and endowed with so many manors that it was as great -as a barony. Abbot Bernard (1160-1175) built a church for the use of the -people who had settled outside the abbey. Abbot Nicholas, who died in -1187, founded BURTON BURGH, and built the first street there. Abbot -Melburne, who died in 1210, enlarged the town from the great bridge of -Burton (over the Trent), to the new bridge (over the Dove) towards -Horninglowe, and gave the citizens a charter, and established a fair and -market. Abbot Lawrence (1228-1260), in a time of fire and flood, took no -rent from the people. Abbot John, of Stafford, who died 1280, made the -Burgh from Bradwaie to Berele Crosse, built the Monks' Bridge over the -Dove, and made (_seldas in foro_) shops in the market-place. Abbot Bernard -built the great bridge of thirty-six arches over the Trent, with a chapel -at one end of it. It was one of the longest bridges in England--five -hundred and fifteen yards long.[588] And during a great famine in 1286, -Abbot Thomas Pakington found the people employment and wages in building a -new quarter from Cattestrete through the middle of Siwarmore to -Hikanelstrete; and built a Chapel of St. Modwen adjoining the abbey, -which, after the Reformation, became the parish church. In the time of -Abbot William Matthew, who died 1430, the high town was paved with a -gutter in the middle, and the _novus vicus_ in front of the abbey gates. - -The provision which the abbey made for the tenants of its burgh were the -parish church and the Chapel of St. Modwen; and these seem to have been -always served from the monastery; for, in the "Valor" there seems to be no -Vicar of Burton, but the convent received from the parish church, in -tithes and oblations, 32[589] a year, and from offerings at the Chapel of -St. Modwenne, 40_s._ - -The "Valor" speaks of a suburb appropriated to the serfs of the abbey, -"Vicus Nativorum." - -[Illustration: Abbey Gateway, Bury St Edmund's.] - - * * * * * - -The church and religious house which King Sigebert of the East Angles -built at Bedericsworth was of little importance till the royal martyr, St. -Edmund, was buried there; and a great monastery was built by Canute on the -spot in honour of the royal saint of East Anglia. In its most flourishing -time the monastery is said to have had 80 Benedictine monks, 15 chaplains -of the abbot and chief officials, 111 servants, and 40 priests of chapels, -chantries, and monastic appendages in the town. The town which gradually -grew up beside the abbey came to be known as the BURY OF ST. EDMUND. Its -principal streets are straight and at right angles with one another like a -town planned and built by the proprietor of the whole site. The abbey -buildings had swallowed up the original Saxon church, and the people -attended service in the nave of the abbey church, till Abbot Anselm, -wishing, it is said, to be rid of the townspeople out of the abbey church, -built the Church of St. James for them in 1125. Soon after a second Church -of St. Mary was built by the sacrist at the south-west corner of the abbey -cemetery. The abbey appointed the parish priests, and built a college for -the parochial clergy. It derived from its rectorial rights at the time of -the Reformation, as given in the "Valor," from St. Mary's 16 10_s._ -9-1/2_d._, and from St. James's 18. - -As the monastery had created the town, so it ruled it without opposition -till the desire for civil liberties which stirred the minds of the people -led some of the younger townsmen to unite themselves under colour of a -gild, the Gild of Bachelors, or young men, to endeavour to obtain -municipal rights for the town. In 1264 they closed the town gates against -an official of the abbey, and engaged in riotous proceedings, when the -abbot appealed to the Crown. The more prudent burghers got frightened, and -suppressed the Bachelors' Gild. They kept up, however, a chronic quarrel, -which culminated in open rebellion; in 1327 the townspeople broke into the -abbey, and compelled the abbot to concede the liberties they sought. But -the king strengthened the armed force at the command of the abbot, and the -townsmen were obliged five years after to renounce their claim, and sue -for pardon. - -It will be observed that where a great monastery was the lord of the town -there was no possibility of a rival monastery, and the monks did not -welcome the friars into their neighbourhood.[590] The abbot supplied -hospitals and such-like things as they were needed; here, at St. Edmund's, -there were four hospitals at its four gates, founded by different abbots, -for the entertainment of poor pilgrims. During a vacancy in the abbacy -here some Franciscans took the opportunity to establish themselves in a -house in the north part of the town; but the new abbot got rid of them in -the peremptory way in which a landlord gets rid of a contumacious -tenant--he pulled the house down over their heads. The friars appealed to -Rome; the pope directed the archbishop, and the archbishop sent his -commissaries, to conduct them into a new habitation in the west quarter of -the town; but the monks drove out both the Episcopal Commissaries and -their clients. The king sent down the chief justice to give them -possession of a new site, but the monks did not submit to the chief -justice, and made good their opposition. At length a compromise was -arrived at, and the friars were allowed to settle "outside the Four -Crosses," which marked the Liberties of St. Edmund for a mile in every -direction.[591] - - * * * * * - -Offa, the great King of the Mercians, in the eighth century, is said to -have "discovered" the relics of St. Alban, the Proto-Martyr of Britain, -and built a monastery to contain them on the site of the martyrdom. A -population gathered around the monastery. The founding of ST. ALBAN'S TOWN -is ascribed to Usinus, the sixth abbot, in the tenth century. He is said -to have built three parish churches for the people: St. Michael's, St. -Peter's, and St. Stephen's, on the north, south, and west sides of the -abbey, and established a market for them. From Domesday it appears that -the town was then part of the possessions of the abbey, and was held by -the abbey in demesne. - -[Illustration: St. Albans.] - -Early in the fourteenth century, the inhabitants tried to relieve -themselves from this hereditary jurisdiction, and wrested from Abbot -Eversden (1308-1326) the right to elect two of their number to represent -them in Parliament; but a little later Abbot Richard of Wallingford -(1326-1334) successfully disputed his predecessor's concessions. - - * * * * * - -Lastly, we have the case of the towns which grew up from small towns to -great ones, in the course of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In -this case the town often was, and continued to be, a manor, the lord -exercising the old feudal jurisdiction and maintaining his manorial -rights; the affairs of the people being regulated by the manorial courts. -In these cases there was usually only one parish church, and we have to -see the way in which, as the town grew, additional provision was made for -the increasing population. One method was by the conversion of the parish -church into a collegiate foundation with a staff of three or four -clergymen, and choir men and boys, for the maintenance of a dignified -service--this was usually done by some one pious benefactor, as at -Manchester, Wingham, and Wye.[592] Another method was for the parishioners -to provide the vicar with a staff of chaplains, and to endow special -services, as at Sheffield and Newark. Each of these methods may be -illustrated by a brief history of the examples named. - -Domesday Survey records the existence of two churches in MANCHESTER of -which it is probable that one, St. Mary's, was the parish church of the -town; and the other, St. Michael's, a dependent church at -Ashton-under-Lyne. In the fourteenth century it was one of the most -wealthy and populous towns in the county of Lancaster; and since the -priest of the place is sometimes called the Dean of Manchester, it was -perhaps the head of an extensive deanery. Its church was of timber, as -that of Marston, in Cheshire, is to this day. - -[Illustration: Manchester Cathedral.] - -Thomas la Ware, second son of Roger Lord la Ware, was rector in 1398, when -by the death of his elder brother he succeeded to the Barony of la Ware, -which included the manor. Desiring to make better provision for the -inhabitants of the town, he obtained a licence from King Henry V., in -1421, to convert the parish church into a collegiate church, with a warden -and so many fellows as should seem good to the body of feoffees who held -the advowson and to the founder. All the powers ecclesiastical and civil -having given their consent, the churchwardens and parishioners, including -various influential knights, esquires, and gentlemen, were called together -by the tolling of the church bell, and then and there expressed their full -consent by petition to the bishop. The staff was composed of a warden, -eight fellows, four clerks, and six choristers; the bishop gave them a -body of statutes which occupy a large space in his extant register; and -Lord la Ware built a college for their residence adjoining the church. The -first warden, John Huntingdon, began the erection of a new and larger -church. - -The college was confiscated by Edward VI. and turned into a vicarage, but -re-established by Queen Mary. Queen Elizabeth renewed the charter of -foundation for a warden and four fellows, two chaplains, four laymen, and -four children skilled in music. Charles I. again renewed it. In 1847, the -diocese of Manchester was created, and the collegiate foundation afforded -a suitable cathedral church with a dean and four canons already endowed. - - * * * * * - -As another example of the way in which a single benefactor sometimes made -extra provision for the spiritual wants of a town, we take the case of the -little town of ROTHERHAM, in Yorkshire. It had a church at the time of the -Conquest. In subsequent times, two great families, the Vescis and Tillis, -shared the manor and the church between them. - -At the time of the "Taxatio" (1291) the rectory had been divided into -moieties; one moiety had been appropriated to the Abbot of Clairvaux, who -received 16 13_s._ 4_d._ from it, besides a stipend of 5, which he paid -to the vicar of that moiety; Sir Roger was the rector of the other moiety, -who received 21 13_s._ 4_d._, and he also was represented by a vicar; -moreover, the prior of Lewes had a pension of 1 6_s._ 8_d._ out of the -rectory.[593] The earlier church gave place, in the reign of Edward IV., -to a more spacious and handsome building, but its clerical staff still -consisted of two vicars and several chantry priests. - -The Archbishop of York, for the last twenty years of the fifteenth -century, was known by the name of Thomas of Rotherham. His family name was -Scott, but having been born at Rotherham, he took the name of his native -place, as we have seen was the custom of Churchmen in the Middle Ages. -Before his death, he adopted another good custom of the time, by raising -for himself a memorial in his native place, and conferring a benefit upon -it in the shape of a perpetual foundation. His will is still in existence, -and the following particulars are chiefly taken from it. He was, he says, -born of people of the yeoman class in the town of Rotherham, and baptized -in the parish church, "in the sacred fountain flowing from the side of -Jesus. O that I loved this Name as I ought and would!" So, lest he should -seem ungratefully forgetful of these things, he founded a perpetual -college in the Name of Jesus in the said town. This was to take the place -of an earlier foundation of the twenty-second year of Edward IV., in which -he had received his own education under a teacher of grammar so skilful -that other of his scholars as well as he had been enabled to rise to -higher fortunes. His first purpose was to establish a learned teacher of -grammar there for all time, who should teach gratis all who came to him. -Then, having seen how the chantry priests of the town lived, some in one -place, some in another, with the laity, to the scandal of one and the ruin -of the others,[594] he determined to erect a college where the first -should teach grammar, and the others might live and lodge. Thirdly, since -he had observed that there are many parishioners attending the church, and -that many rustic people of the neighbourhood flock to it that they may the -better love the Christian religion, he establishes a second perpetual -fellow to teach singing gratis, and to have for his food and clothing 6 -13_s._ 4_d._; and six chorister boys, that they may celebrate the Divine -office there more honourably, and each of them to have 40_s._ a year for -food and clothing. Fourthly, since there are many very intelligent youths -who do not all wish to attain the clerical dignity, but are adapted for -mechanical arts and other occupations, he provides a third Socius, who -shall teach the arts of writing and reckoning gratis. But since the arts -of writing, music, and grammar are subordinate, and servants of the Divine -law and the gospel, he ordains that there shall be a theologian placed -above the three fellows in the rule and government of the house, with the -name of provost, who shall be a B.D. at least, and shall be required to -preach the word of God through the whole of the founder's province of -York; he is to have for food and clothing 13 6_s._ 8_d._ "Thus I have -incorporated in my college one provost, three fellows, and six choristers, -that where I have offended God in His ten commandments, these ten may pray -for me." As to the chantry priests, he gave them their chambers in the -college; they were to dine at the college-table, paying for their food, -but having the services of the cook, washerwoman, and barber gratis. The -provost and fellows were to attend Divine service on festivals in the -parish church in their surplices; at other times in the college chapel; -and to celebrate his obit. There were five chantry priests living in the -college at the time when the foundation, by which good Thomas of Rotherham -made a monument for himself, and conferred a great benefit on his native -town, was dissolved and swept away at the Reformation. - - * * * * * - -The neighbouring town of SHEFFIELD will afford an example of the way in -which the inhabitants of a town sometimes made extra spiritual provision -for themselves. At the Conquest, all this part of Yorkshire was a wild and -thinly-peopled region. The Countess Judith, niece of the Conqueror, and -wife of Waltheof, placed a colony of monks from Fontenelle near Havre, at -Ecclesfield near Sheffield. The whole district of Hallamshire descended -from the countess to William de Lovelot, who had his principal castle at -Sheffield, and no doubt was the founder of the church here. Subsequently -he founded a Priory of Austin Canons at Worksop, and among other property -gave to them the church and one-third of the tithe of Sheffield.[595] - -The canons always presented to the vicarage of Sheffield one of their -number, who was not thereby cut off from the convent; for one of them, -Upton, was recalled from Sheffield to be the prior of the house at -Worksop. - -In the latter part of the fifteenth century we learn that there were -endowments for a Light or Gild of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and for a -Chantry or Service of St. Catherine, in the church. - -In 1498, William Hine left certain tenements in trust for the four church -greves or church masters to receive the rents, and thereof "to pay yearly -to the priest of St. Catherine singing mass in the said church, 7_s._ at -Whitsuntide for the better support and augmentation of the service thereof -called St. Catherine's Service, the church maisters to have 12_d._ for -attending at his obit." If the conditions of the will were not fulfilled, -the feoffees were to pay the profits to the burgesses for the repair of -bridges, causeways, and highways within a mile of the town. The history of -the matter is a little obscure, but it appears that the inhabitants of the -town had by voluntary contributions supplied the vicar with stipends for -three chaplains to assist him in ministering to the town and the scattered -hamlets; that about fourteen years before the Statute of Chantries, _i.e._ -in the year 1533, the Guardians of the endowed chantry began to -contribute 17 a year towards the maintenance of these three chaplains in -sums of 7, 5, and 5. The Commissioners of Chantries returned it as "a -service or perpetual stipend of three priests in the church there," and it -was confiscated with other chantries. On the accession of Queen Mary, at -the petition of the men of Sheffield, the charity was refounded and put -into the hands of twelve church burgesses to hold the property of the -ancient endowment and devote it to the support of three chaplains to -assist the vicar as well in the visitation of the people as in Divine -service and the other sacraments in church, and to apply the surplus to -the repair of bridges and ways.[596] - -We find, then, that in a town which was all one parish with one great -church, though the person in charge of the souls of the people was only a -solitary vicar with a small income, there were often really a considerable -number of clergy grouped around him, and that the services of the Church -were better maintained than we should perhaps have expected. On a Sunday -morning there would be several celebrations of Holy Communion at different -hours in the chantry chapels, and some, if not all the priests of the -chantries and special services were bound to be in choir at matins, high -mass, and evensong, and take part in the service. Nearly every such town -would have its grammar school, taught by a Clerk in Holy Orders; and we -may be tolerably sure that the school would furnish choristers for choral -matins and evensong. We have learnt that the lay people were solicitous -for the honour of Divine service in their parish church, and may be sure -that the vicar had little difficulty in obtaining funds for the purchase -of "a pair of organs" and the stipend of an organist, and for all other -expenses of Divine worship. On week-days the vicar would provide at least -daily mass, matins and evensong, and the chantries and special services -would supply other masses. - -In the pastoral care of the people, too, the vicar of a great parish was -not left single-handed. Probably (as has been already said) each chantry -priest, and, still more, each priest of a gild or service had a group of -persons--the relatives of their founder, or brothers and sisters of their -fraternity--who looked to them for spiritual ministrations; but besides -these, the vicar sometimes had chaplains who were assistant-curates. The -calendar of chantries, etc., refers to a number of endowments for -"stipendiaries," of which some are named in conjunction with chantries and -gilds as if they were cantarists, but others in conjunction with parishes -as if they were simply parish chaplains. - -Let us take NEWARK as our last example. - -Leofric, the great Earl of Mercia, and Godiva his wife, gave this manor to -the monastery of Stow. Remigius, the first Norman Bishop of Lincoln, held -it in demesne; and then, according to Domesday, it had ten churches and -eight priests; the churches and priests were probably in the place itself -and in the sixteen sokes under its jurisdiction, the names of which we -recognize in the names of the neighbouring villages for some miles round -on the left bank of the Trent. Alexander, the next bishop, built a -castle[597] here on the bank of the Trent; and the town seems to have -grown up into importance, owing partly to its situation on the Fossway and -the Trent, and partly to the protection and fostering care of the -bishops. When Henry II. founded the Priory (of Sempringham nuns) of St. -Katherine, near Lincoln, he endowed it, among other properties, with the -Church of Newark. A convent of Austin Friars was planted here and another -of Observants (Franciscans), and the Knights of the Temple had a -preceptory here. - -[Illustration: Newark Church, Nottinghamshire.] - -The town, as one of the halting-places of the funeral progress of Queen -Eleanor, was ornamented with one of the crosses with which the king marked -every step of that great pageant. - -To come to more recent times, and to the particulars with which we are -most concerned, the borough was one parish[598] under the care of a vicar; -and its parish church,[599] rebuilt in the reign of Henry VI., is a very -large and noble structure, with its chancel screen and carved stalls, and -some fine carving, still remaining uninjured. We have already had occasion -to give the particulars of the income of the vicar,[600] which amounted at -the time of the "Valor" to 21, and of the outgoings, which included a -stipend of 5 for a chaplain,[601] we have to add here the services and -priests which helped to complete the religious arrangements of the town. - -The Calendar of Chantries, etc., so often quoted, gives the following list -of them-- - - St. Nicholas' Chantry, a chantry at the altar of St. James; - Sawcendine's Chantry; "Morrow Mass" Chantry; St. Catherine's Chantry; - Corpus Christi Chantry, founded by Fleming;[602] Corpus Christi - Chantry, founded by Isabell Caldwell; Newark Chantry; Trinity Chantry; - All Saints' Chantry; Foster's Chantry; Trinity Gild[603] Chantry; - Trinity Chantry, founded by John Leeke. - -There are thirteen chantries in all. One we note was for a "Morrow Mass," -_i.e._ a very early celebration of Holy Communion; the rest would be -arranged at various hours. The Trinity Gild was the great gild of the -town, which here, as in many other towns, supplied, to some extent, the -place of a municipal corporation. - -Some solidarity was given to this group of cantarists by the fact that -they lived together in a mansion which a benefactor had provided for them. -The internal economy of the mansion would require some regulation which -would not improbably be borrowed from the rules which were customary in a -college of priest-vicars, or chantry house of several priests. The rules -for the chantry priests lodging in Archbishop Rotherham's College,[604] -and those for the chapel at Kingston-on-Thames,[605] will indicate their -general character. - -Thomas Magnus, Archdeacon of the East Riding of York, a native of the town -just before the Reformation (1532), founded at the north-west point of the -churchyard a free school for a priest sufficiently learned to teach -grammar, who was to be paid 10; together with a song school for a -priest[606] sufficiently learned to teach plain song and play the organ, -who was to have 8; and six children to be taught music, and to play upon -the organs, who were to have 26_s._ 8_d._ each. The founder also founded -an obit of 40_s._, and 40_s._ to be given to the alderman [of the Holy -Trinity Gild] for the time being. - -The cathedral-like choir of the church would then be well filled on -Sundays and holy days by the vicar and his chaplain and the thirteen -cantarists and the children of the song school, and the Divine service -honourably rendered, and the long nave would doubtless be filled with the -devout people. The whole clerical staff of the town consisted of the -vicar, his chaplain and clerk, the brethren of the two friaries, perhaps a -dozen in each, the thirteen cantarists in their chantry house: nearly -forty men, besides the military monks in the preceptory. - - * * * * * - -Besides monks and friars, rectors and vicars, cantarists, and chaplains of -various kinds, there was still another kind of religious persons to be -found in many towns, viz. Recluses. The first recluses were enclosed in -the Egyptian deserts in a narrow cell; but in process of time a churchyard -was taken to be a sufficiently solitary place, and the cell sometimes -consisted of two or more fairly comfortable rooms built against the -chancel wall of the church. There lived an old hermit or priest, or a -religious woman, supported partly by an endowment, partly by the offerings -and bequests of the people. Their picturesque asceticism attracted the -interest and veneration of impressible people, who would consult them in -the affairs of their souls, and no doubt in their social difficulties -also, and receive more or less good council according to the character of -the recluse.[607] - - -BRIDGE-CHAPELS. - -There is still another feature wanting to complete (in many cases) this -survey of the ecclesiastical aspect of a medival town. A good hard road -through a wild boggy tract, or a raised causeway across the often flooded -valley in which the town was situated, or a stone bridge in place of a -dangerous ford or inconvenient ferry, conferred a very real benefit upon -the whole community, from the king in his royal progresses through the -country to the peasantry who brought their produce to the weekly market. -Men wisely included road-making and bridge-building among meritorious acts -of charity, and the calendar of chantries, etc., contains a number of -endowments which were given or bequeathed for these purposes. Very -frequently the pious builder of a bridge added a religious foundation to -it in the shape of a little chapel; sometimes the chapel was built at one -end of the bridge; more commonly, perhaps, the central pier on one side of -the bridge was enlarged, and the chapel picturesquely erected upon it. The -chapel was endowed with a stipend for a perpetual chantry priest to say -prayers there for the family of the bridge-builder, and for all Christian -people; and no doubt the founder hoped for himself the prayers of all the -Christian people who used his bridge. Those of us who, lounging about the -churches of other countries as sight-seers, have seen the market women -come in, set down their baskets on the floor, and kneel down for a few -moments for silent prayer, will easily understand the practical religious -uses of these bridge-chapels. - -[Illustration: Bridge and Chapel, Wakefield.] - -Perhaps the chapel built on the new stone London Bridge of 1176 was one of -the earliest and the most important of them. It was built over a crypt on -the central pier on the eastern side of the bridge, and dedicated to St. -Thomas the Martyr, who had been canonized three years before. It had a -master and fraternity, and several chantries were founded in it. Bideford -Bridge, one of the longest at that time in the kingdom, was built in 1350, -on the initiative of the parish priest, Sir R. Gurney, who had a vision of -an angel showing him where to build. The lord of the manor, Sir Theodore -Granville, Knight, gave the undertaking his countenance and aid; -Grandisson, the Bishop of Exeter, gave his licence to collect money backed -by the promise of indulgences, and the bridge was made with its 23 arches, -177 yards long. In later times, the estates of the Bridge Gild were under -the management of a warden and brethren, who not only kept the bridge in -repair, but also built a hall for their meetings and a school beside it, -founded charities, gave dinners, and kept to that end--Charles Kingsley in -"Westward Ho!" is our authority for saying it--the best stocked cellar in -all Devon. There is a good example of a bridge-chapel still remaining on -the centre pier of Rotherham bridge, and another at Wakefield, served by -two chaplains. We have remains or notes of others: two at Nottingham, one, -_super altem pontem_, dedicated to St. James, the other, _ad finem -pontis_, dedicated to St. Mary; at Newcastle, dedicated to St. Thomas; at -Camelford, dedicated to St. Thomas, built by the burgesses of the town; at -Exeter, founded by the mayor and bailiffs of the city; at Stamford, -dedicated to St. Thomas; at Elvet, dedicated to St. James; two at York, -St. Anne's on Fossbridge and St. William's on Ouse bridge; Burton, at one -end of the long bridge over the Trent; at Doncaster, where the bridge had -a stone gateway with a chapel of "Our Lady" beside it at one end, and a -stone cross beside the entrance to the bridge at the other end; and at -many other places, as Durham, Manchester, Rochester, Bidenham, Totton, -Gronethe, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary; at Sheffield, Darfield, -etc. Sometimes a hospital for the entertainment of poor travellers was -built at the end of a bridge, as at Burton and at Nottingham;[608] at -Brandford there was a chapel-house and hospital _juxta pontem_.[609] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -DISCIPLINE. - - -The average Englishman of the present day has hardly an idea of what is -meant by ecclesiastical discipline, and is quite ignorant of the large -part which it played in the practical religious life of people in ancient -times. Yet its principles are laid down in the New Testament; the right -and duty of the Church to hear and determine causes between Christian men -is contained in our Lord's command, "If thy brother trespass against thee -... tell it to the Church; and if he neglect to hear the Church, let him -be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican" (Matt. xviii. 17). The -general recognition and exercise of this jurisdiction is alluded to in the -apostolic writings (1 Cor. vi. 4; x. 32); and St. Paul gives several -actual examples of its enforcement (1 Cor. v. 5; 1 Tim. i. 20). The Church -in all times and places has maintained this power of spiritual discipline -to be one of its fundamental principles. - -The special jurisdiction which the decree of William the Conqueror gave to -the Ecclesiastical Courts over ecclesiastical persons, and over lay -persons in ecclesiastical cases, was perhaps an encroachment upon the -province of the civil law, but the spiritual jurisdiction involved in our -Lord's Command is independent of the sanction of the civil magistrate. - -This spiritual discipline is an important aid to the power of the civil -magistrate in the Christian community. Where the magistrate's power stops, -that of the pastorate steps in. The magistrate can only take cognizance of -crimes, and punish a man for offences against another; the Church takes -cognizance of sins, and deals with a man _pro salute anim_. If the sin -has not caused scandal, the penance inflicted may be of a private nature; -but if it has caused scandal, the punishment is public, "that others may -learn not to offend." - -The penitential system in the Saxon Church, as we learn it from the -penitential known by the name of Archbishop Theodore, was a very elaborate -system, classifying sins and assigning penalties to them; it was confirmed -in some particulars by the ecclesiastical enactments of kings. In greater -matters the case came before the sheriff and bishop at the Shiremote or -Hundredmote, and the sentence was enforced by the same power which -executed the civil sentences of the same court. In the Ecclesiastical -Courts after the Norman Conquest, the bishop, and in some matters the -archdeacons under his authority, tried the cause, and in case of -resistance to the sentence applied for a royal writ to be sent to the -sheriff to enforce it. In most cases the knowledge that the Bishop's Court -had the civil power at its back was enough to lead men to submit to its -authority. In the last resort the spiritual authority had the sentence of -excommunication to fall back upon.[610] - -The discipline of the clergy was specially in the hands of the bishop and -his archdeacons, who dealt with moral offences and ecclesiastical -irregularities in their courts. The famous Constitutions of Otho (1237), -followed up by those of Archbishop Stephen Langton, enacted, that in every -rural deanery one rector should be appointed to hear the confessions of -the clergy. Archbishop Peckham, in 1281, complains that it had not been -done, and renews the ordinance. This was not to prevent the clergy from -going to other penitentiaries appointed by the bishop. - -Archbishop Greenfield of York (1310) issued an injunction, engrossed by a -public notary, ordering a certain Ralph de Grave, Canon of Worksop, who -had proved contumacious, to betake himself within three days to the -monastery of Bridlington, and there to do penance for his rebellious -behaviour.[611] - -Among Grostete's letters is one to a cleric, in which he rebukes his -luxurious and licentious life, and tells him roundly that he is "a blot on -the clergy, a shame to theologians, a delight to the enemies of religion, -a derision and song and story to the vulgar."[612] - - Robert Coton, for a sermon preached at Atcham, near Shrewsbury, - containing heretical teaching, was sentenced to carry a faggot in - procession round the cathedral, and afterwards round Atcham - Church.[613] - - Robert Segefeld, chaplain, in 1455, confessing immorality, is - sentenced to public penance in his chapel and in the cathedral, and to - pay 6_s._ 8_d._ to St. Cuthbert's shrine. This penance consisted in - walking barefoot, in linen vestments (_pannis lineis_), carrying a - candle before the procession, on a Sunday.[614] - - Thomas Ferby, December 7, 1456, prayed to be released from the - excommunication he had incurred for procuring the celebration of a - clandestine marriage in St. Paul's Cray Church. As a penance, he was - ordered to visit the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury on Easter Day, - and there offer a wax taper of one pound weight. The like offering was - to be made to St. Blaize at Bromley and in Chislehurst Church. In - addition, he was to allow exhibitions to two scholars at Oxford for - two years. Ferby afterwards came to an understanding with his - diocesan, and was dismissed from the suit. In the next February, John, - chaplain of Paul's Cray, doubtless the priest who had officiated on - the occasion, swore before the bishop, in the cathedral, not to offend - again, and was absolved.[615] He redeemed his penance by taking an - oath to pay a mark at Lady Day in that and the two ensuing years.[616] - -[Illustration: SIX KNIGHTS DOING PENANCE AT THE SHRINE OF ST. EDMUND. XV. -CENT. MS., 2278 f., 108 v., HARL.] - -The bishops had to deal, not only with the moral offences of the clergy, -but also with the occasional crimes committed by members of this -privileged class. Degradation from Orders, and imprisonment with -penitential discipline, seems to have been the usual mode of punishment. -We have seen that a Constitution of Archbishop Boniface, 1260, directed -every bishop to have in his diocese one or two prisons for confining -clerics flagitious in crime, or convicted by canonical censure, and that -any cleric committing a crime such that if he were a layman he would, -according to the secular law, suffer the extreme penalty, should be -adjudged to perpetual imprisonment. - - This spiritual power was strong enough to cope with the most powerful - offenders. We all remember how Henry II., able and powerful king as he - was, submitted to discipline at the hands of the monks of Canterbury - Cathedral, before the shrine of St. Thomas. - - The turbulent Fulke de Breaut, in the reign of Henry III., had - plundered St. Alban's Abbey and taken some refugees out of its - sanctuary. Being warned by the saint in a dream, he offered himself at - the monastery to suffer penance; and there despoiled of his clothes, - with his knights similarly stripped, bearing in hand a rod, "which is - vulgarly called baleis," and confessing his fault, he received the - discipline from each of the brothers on his naked flesh.[617] He - refused, however, to make restitution. - - When Thomas of Cantilupe was Bishop of Hereford (1275-1283), Lord - Clifford plundered his cattle and ill-treated his tenants. When - summoned by the bishop to make amends for his misconduct, he offered - to do so by a money payment; but the bishop compelled him to walk - barefoot as a penitent to the altar, while the bishop himself - inflicted chastisement upon him as he walked.[618] - - John Langton, Bishop of Chichester, c. 1314, excommunicated Earl - Warren for adultery. The earl came to Chichester and endeavoured to - seize the bishop; but Langton and his servants not only repelled the - attack, but captured the earl and his retinue and put them all in - prison. - -The accompanying plate is from Lydgate's "Life of Edmund VI." (Harl. 2278, -f. 108 and f. 108 v.). Preceding it is a picture of five knights issuing -from the gate of the abbey laden with plunder, and keeping the monks at -bay at the sword's point; next this picture of the knights stripped to -their drawers, making their submission to the abbot and his clerks at the -shrine of the saint. Between the two pictures the story is told thus: - - Knightes of yoe of malice and ravyne, - Agen the fredom of Edmund ful confiable, - Habergowned and in platis fyne, - Entered his court, took hors out yf his stable, - With swerdes drawe to shewe hemself vengable, - Lyst any man wolde make resistence, - Hadde forth the pray beytort violence. - - But sodenly thus with hem it stood, - Or they passyd the boudes of the gate, - Travayled with furye and echon was wood, - Repented, after offered up mayl and plate, - Confessed, assoiled, in cronycle set the date, - Ever after off hool affeccion, - Hadde to the martyr gret devocion. - -We must bear in mind that these were the days when civil penalties -included the stocks and the pillory and whipping through the streets at a -cart's tail. - - In 1344, a sheriff's officer, who slew a rector, resisting the attempt - to arrest him, was, with his followers, condemned to walk, stripped to - their breeches, like the knights at St. Edmund's, round the principal - churches of the district, and to be whipped at the door of each - church.[619] And such instances might be indefinitely multiplied. - - About 1284, Archbishop Peckham made a provincial visitation, in which - he exercised severe discipline on both clergy and laity. For example, - in Lichfield Diocese, the bishop being a foreigner and non-resident, - the archbishop sent a public summons to him to reside, on penalty of - deprivation, telling him that since he could not preach to his people, - he was the rather bound to reside among them, and to spend his revenue - in hospitality and relieving the poor. In Chichester Diocese, he - inflicted upon one John Ham, a priest, convicted of immorality, a - three years' penance of fasting, prayers, and pilgrimage, during which - time the profits of his living were sequestrated to the poor. In - Wilts, being informed that Sir Osborn Gyfford had carried off two nuns - from the Monastery of Wilton, he proceeded to excommunication against - him, and only consented to remit the censure on these conditions: that - he should be stripped to the waist on three Sundays in Wilton Parish - Church and beaten with rods; the discipline to be publicly repeated - both in the market-place and parish church of Shaftesbury; should fast - for three months, and go on a three years' pilgrimage to Jerusalem; - should not wear a sword, or appear in the habit of a gentleman. - - Grostete, Bishop of Lincoln, instituted an inquiry into the morals of - the laity as well as clergy in his diocese, but the king, Henry III., - interposed, and obliged him to desist. - -But to come to a different class of offenders, and to various kinds of -misdoing. It will be enough to select a few examples. - - 1253. Hugo de Berewyk found surety of ten marks to behave properly to - his wife, and he was sentenced, for "that he had long been - excommunicate, that without shoes or girdle or [sword?] he should - receive the discipline in the porch of the Church of Gysele, before - the whole procession, once on the day of the Holy Trinity, a second - time on the day of St. John Baptist, and the third time on the day of - SS. Peter and Paul."[620] - - When Bishop Ralph, of Bath and Wells, in 1348, visited Ilchester, the - people of the place made a riot, attacked the bishop and his people, - and shut them up in the church for some hours, till they were rescued - by the well-affected. The riot was punished by excommunication of the - offenders, and interdict of the Church. One of the ringleaders, Roger - Warmville, was tried at Taunton by the Commissary, and sentenced to - penance. He was to walk on three several occasions, bareheaded and - barefoot, round Ilchester Church, in front of the procession made on - Sundays and feast days, holding a candle, which he was to present at - the altar during mass, while a chaplain declared his sin to the - congregation in the vulgar tongue. Moreover, he was to be flogged - thrice on market days at Ilchester, Wells, Bath, Glastonbury, and - Somerton; he was to pay a fine of 20, and make a pilgrimage to - Canterbury in honour of St. Thomas the Martyr.[621] - - In 1474, a case of homicide between the Lamberts and the Knolls, by - the award of Wm. Blackburn, Canon of Bolton, it was awarded and - ordained that Thomas, Henry, Richard, Stephen and Thomas Knoll of - Floder, "come to the parish church of Preston, and there in tyme of - service, kneling on their knees, loose gerded, ask God forgivenes of - ye dethe of Henrie Lambert, and ask forgivenes of his fader John - Lambert, and pay xl marks to ye behofe of Jo. Lambert and his - children, unto Ric. Pilkinton, Esq., on the awter of St. Nicholas, in - the parish church of Skypton."[622] - - All kinds of offences were dealt with by similar penalties. Richard - Ram confessing that he had not paid the tithe of his corn to his - rector of Cliffe, in 1363, was sentenced to carry a sheaf of corn on - his shoulder to the altar of Cliffe Church, and there to offer it and - the value of the tithe withheld.[623] - - Among the cases recorded in the "Proceedings of the Courts of Durham," - p. 26, we find, in a case of immorality, the man sentenced to receive - four "fustigations" round the church, and the woman two. - - For non-attendance at church on Sundays, we have already quoted - several cases (p. 201). - - In 1480, nine parishioners of Halling and Snodland[624] were summoned - to the court for playing tennis on Thursday in Whitsun-week in time of - matins and mass. They pleaded guilty, and took an oath to perform - whatever penance the bishop might impose. The sentence was that those - of Snodland should walk barefoot after the procession on the following - Sunday, each carrying a taper worth a halfpenny, which they should - offer at the Holy Cross. The Halling men were to do the like, with - this difference, that they were each to offer two tapers at the high - altar and two at the altar of St. John. - - William Bek, of Cooling, was cited into the court of John Alcock - (1476-1486), Bishop of Rochester, in consequence of having been - detected by his wife and neighbours in eating meat on Fridays and - other fasts. Bek confessed his guilt, though he doubted if he had - offended in Lent, but pleaded that he was not responsible for his - actions, since his mind had been so much disturbed for three years - that he only knew Sunday because his wife on that day offered him the - consecrated bread. The plea did not avail. It was ordered that as a - penance he should be thrice whipped round Cooling Church, before the - procession, clad in a white cloth, with bare head and feet, and - carrying a taper of the value of one penny. Further, that on Friday he - should be whipped in Rochester market in like manner, and should offer - a taper at the shrine of St. William.[625] - - Margaret Reed, in 1469, is brought before the Court for using ill - language to Martha Howkett, in that she told her she was a "horse - godmother and waterwitch." So, in 1560, Wm. Lee is reported to have - said to Bayle, who was reported to be a deacon at Durham, "Methenketh - ye goeth not lyk a man of the church, but lyk a ruffing." To whom the - said Bayle answered, "What hast thou to do with my apparell or my - going? Thou art a slave and a knave to find fault with me."[626] - -There are many other instances of defamation, at p. 90, etc. Here is an -example of a little later date than our period, which shows exactly what -was the way of making amends for the offence of defamation:-- - - A confession to be made by Charles Shawe for slandering Bar. Mitforth - in St. Nicoles Church, in lynen apparell, after the reading of the - third chapter of St. James' Epistle-- - - "Beloved neighbours, I am now comen hither to shewe myself sory for - slannderinge one Bartram Midforde, namely in that I called him openly - 'beggerly harlot and cutthrote,' saying that he 'was a covitous - snowge, and such as he by Godd's worde aught to be weded out of the - Coomenwelthe.' I acknowledge that thus to slannder my Xtian brother is - an heynouse offence, first towardes God, who hathe straightly - forbydden it in his holy lawes, accountyng it to be a kind of - murderinge my neighbour, and threatninge to punyshe it with hell fire - and the losse of the kyngdome of heavene. Also the Queen's lawes, - against which I have stubbornely stande, doth grevously punyshe all - slannderers, backbiters, and sowers of discorde, debate, hatred, and - disquietnes, to the shame of the offenders and feare of others. - Agayne, my unruly tongue, if it were not punished, it wolde not only - set mo of you on fire, but also it wolde bolden others to do the like. - Wherefore, as I am now called back frome myne inordinate doinges by - this correction, with my coste and shame, so I beseche yow all to be - witnesses with me that I am sory frome the verrey bottome of my harte - for this and my other like offences against God, the Quene's majestie, - and the said Bertram Mydforde; promysinge before God and you here - present, that I fully intende to amende my outerageous tonge and - wilfull behaviour, as maye please Almightie God, satisfye the Quene's - lawes, and towrne to yur good example and myne owne sowle's health; - for the obteyninge and performinge thereof I humbly beseche yow all, - with me and for me, to pray unto God as our Saviour Jesus Xt. himself, - beinge on earth, taught us, sayinge 'Our Father,' etc. A.D. - 1570."[627] - - A suit was begun in 1458 against John Andrew of Cobham and Margery - Allyn, late of Shorne, for having clandestinely married while a - matrimonial cause was pending between her and Richard Coke. They were - sentenced, December 20, to be whipped "after the manner of penitents" - once in Rochester market and thrice round their parish church. Walter - Crepehogg, who had promoted the marriage, was thought the worst - offender, for besides _six_ whippings he was condemned to carry a - torch worth 6_s._ 8_d._ to the altar of the cathedral, and to make a - similar offering to St. Blaize at Bromley.[628] - -Occasionally a contumacious person resisted the sentence. For example-- - - In 1315, Lady Plokenet [Plucknet] directed by will that she should be - buried in Sherborne Church. Her son, Sir Alan, probably to save - expense, buried her "in a less dignified place." The bishop sent him - orders by the Rector of Dowlish Wake, who was the Rural Dean of - Crewkerne, to obey his mother's request. Falling into a rage at this, - the knight rushed on the dean, caught him by the throat, and choaked - him by twisting his hood, and even caused him to bleed. The dean got - away, and fled. At Haslebury, however, Sir Alan and his men caught - him, and there the knight made him eat the bishop's letter, and chew - and swallow the wax seals. For this he was excommunicated, but made - due submission.[629] - -In the "Proceedings of the Durham Court" we read that-- - - John Doffenby, being a person excommunicate, did come into Mitfourth - Church in tyme of service, and being admonished to depart thrice, - would not, but gave evil language, saying that he cared not for the - commissary and his laws, nor for the curate, and bade them come who - durst and carry him out of the church; whereupon the curate was driven - to leave off service at the gospel. It does not appear what was the - end of the case. - - Agnes Hebburne, 1454, having been sentenced to do penance in _pannis - lineis_, impudently pleaded that she had not a fit smock, and was not - able to buy one; whereupon the judge ordered her to do her penance in - a "tunica habens unam vestem vocatur le napron." - -There are some pictorial illustrations of the subject in the illuminated -MSS. The scourging of Henry II. before the shrine of Becket is often -portrayed. In the Omne Bonum (Royal, 6 Ed. VI., f. 218 v.) is a very -curious picture of a priest giving the discipline to a penitent kneeling -before him;[630] and at f. 443 (6 E. VII.), a man scourging himself on the -bare back in his bedroom. In a Pontifical printed at Venice, 1520, f. 155, -penitents in their shirts are kneeling before the bishop; a man kneeling -to a priest who lays the rod of absolution on his shoulder, at 203 v., and -Reconciliation of Penitents at the end of Lent, f. 177. - -There are two sides to most questions, and what a man will say upon any -question depends upon his point of view. What we are told of clergy and -laity of those ages by courts of discipline which dealt exclusively with -their peccadilloes, and by the satirists whose motive was the scourging of -the peccators, gives us one side of the subject. Nobody took the trouble -to tell the obvious, uninteresting story of the ruck of parsons of -respectable character who were doing their daily round of duty, Sunday and -workaday, fairly well, except Chaucer, and he--great student of human life -and manners that he was--while scourging with a whip of scorpions the -faults of monks and friars, and pardoners and "sompnours," completes his -gallery of ecclesiastical characters with the loveliest portrait of the -typical parish priest. - -The inquisitorial meddling of the courts of spiritual discipline, their -pecuniary exactions and shameful penances, were by no means the least of -the abuses which made men cry out for a reformation. - - * * * * * - -In connection with this system of discipline was the custom of pronouncing -a general sentence of excommunication in church several times a year which -is mentioned by John Myrc (p. 238). We may add here that it was not at all -uncommon to try to bring an unknown thief to make restitution by the -threat of a sentence of excommunication; thus Bishop Thomas, in 1376, at -the request of Philip de Nevile, directs all the clergy to give notice -that some persons unknown have knowingly detained a very valuable hawk, -and they are to restore it within ten days on pain of the greater -excommunication.[631] Two years afterwards (1378), the same bishop -excommunicates certain persons who have stolen some "merlions" from his -forest of Wesdale, and destroyed their nests.[632] On the other hand, the -old Saxon system of purgation of oath still continued, _e.g._ in 1458, -William Godthank, accused of theft, appeared in Gnosall Church, Lichfield, -with eight of his neighbours, and standing before the altar he swore that -he was innocent, and his neighbours that they believed him, whereupon the -bishop threatened excommunication against any one who should in future -slander him.[633] - -Archbishop Peckham's third constitution at Reading (1279) orders the -General Excommunications to be explained to the people on the Sundays -after every Rural Chapter, and the archdeacons to see that it is -done.[634] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. - - -The subject of the religious condition of the parish priests and their -people in the Middle Ages--their belief and life--brings us into a -polemical atmosphere. There are some admirers of those times who look upon -them as "the Ages of Faith;" there are others who think that in those -times of false doctrines and manifold superstitions priests and people -were generally degraded and vicious. - -The truth lies somewhere between the two. We do not propose to enter into -polemical discussion. Our business, as it seems to us, is to try to put -ourselves into the midst of the people, to enter into their minds, to -study their lives, and to represent as fairly as we can what manner of men -priests and people were, what they believed, and how they lived. - -We seem to see on the whole that there were two "schools of thought" in -the Middle Ages. One consisted of learned men of a speculative turn of -mind, who explained and developed ancient doctrines and practices into new -and erroneous meanings; followed by a crowd of devout people who adopted -their views, and sometimes degraded philosophical speculations and pious -opinions, which they hardly understood, into gross misapprehensions and -superstitions. On the other hand, there were people of competent learning, -who read the Scriptures and the ancient Fathers, and in substance adhered -to their teaching; and with them remained a crowd of people whose -Christian common sense kept them fairly free of extravagances. We must be -careful in judging people who have been brought up in a faulty system. We -must not take for granted that everybody believed in every error and in -the conclusions logically involved in it, or approved of every -superstitious custom. On the contrary, the soul, like the stomach, seems -to discriminate what it lives on, and to have a power of assimilating what -is good, and rejecting more or less what is noxious. Why should we doubt -that God watches over His people, and helps the ignorant, well-intentioned -Christian man unconsciously to refuse the evil and choose the good? - -If we look at the general character of the centuries we have been -studying, there is no denying that there was a great deal which was good -in them. The people in the twelfth century had a great zeal for religion -of an ascetic type, and amidst the violence and oppression of the times -there was a great deal of religious feeling of an exalted character, and -many a saintly life. It was the great age of the Latin hymns. - -[Illustration: Early English architecture. North-west transept of Beverley -Minster.] - -In the thirteenth century, the enthusiasm for the ascetic life had cooled -down, having been to some extent disappointed; the monks were not so -highly thought of, and the more sober type of religion represented by the -bishop and secular clergy came to the front. It was a great century of -intense vitality; the spirit of freedom was moving the middle classes of -the people, and the Church was in hearty sympathy with them. It was the -age of organization of civil institutions. Very few monasteries were -built, but every cathedral was enlarged, and churches were rebuilt; there -was never so active an architectural period. The new religious spirit of -the age showed itself in that rare event, the introduction of a new style -of architecture, bold engineering skill in its construction, with pointed -arches soaring heavenwards, ornamentations of acanthus leaves just -unfolding in the vigour of the spring-time of a new year. - -In the fourteenth century, the history of the Lollard movement is enough -to show the strong religious feeling of the people and its tendency -towards sounder views of religion. The saying that, "Where you saw three -people talking together, two of them were Lollards," was said by a -Lollard, and may be an exaggeration; but there is no question that (while -some went to extremes, as always in an age of great intellectual movement -and strong feeling) the mass of the people was leavened by what there -was--and there was much--that was true in the new ideas.[635] - -It has been suggested by ingenious critics that Chaucer, being connected -by marriage and sympathy with the leader of the party which favoured the -opinion of the school of Wiclif, his famous description of "a poure parson -of a town" is only the ideal of what a parish priest ought to be according -to the view of that school. It may be maintained, on the other hand, that -Chaucer's sketches of the clergy of all orders are conceived in a spirit -of genial satire; and that if the parish priests had been generally -worldly-minded and negligent of their duties, unclerical in attire and -weapons, attendants on field-sports and haunters of taverns, the great -artist would have put a man of that type among his inimitable gallery of -contemporary character sketches. We have no fear of being mistaken when we -take it that his "poure parson of a town" (which does not necessarily mean -a town but quite possibly a village rector[636]) had many prototypes among -the parochial clergy of the fourteenth century. - - A good man there was of religioun, - That was a poure parson of a toun; - But riche was of holy thought and werk. - He was also a lerned man, a clerk, - That Christe's Gospel treweley would preche. - His parishens devoutly wolde he teche. - Benigne he was, and wonder diligent, - And in adversity ful patient; - And such he was y proved often sithes, - Ful loth were he to cursen for his tithes, - But rather would he given, out of doubte, - Unto his poure parishens about, - Of his offering, and eke of his substance. - He could in litel thing have suffisance. - Wide was his parish, and houses fer asunder, - But he ne left nought, for no rain ne thunder, - In siknesse and in mischief to visite - The farthest in his parish much and lite, - Upon his fete, and in his hand a staff. - This noble example to his sheep he gaf, - That first he wrought and afterward he taught - Out of the gospel he the wordes caught, - And this figure he added yet thereto, - That if gold ruste what should iron do, - For if a priest be foul on whom we trust, - No wonder is a leude man to rust; - And shame it is if that a priest take kepe, - To see a filthy shepherd and clene shepe. - Well ought a priest example for to give - By his clenenesse how his shepe shulde live. - He sette not his benefice to hire, - And left his shepe accumbered in the mire, - And ran unto London unto Saint Poule's - To seeken him a chanterie for souls, - Or with a brotherhede to be withold, - But dwelt at home and kepte well his fold, - So that the wolfe made him not miscarry. - He was a shepherd and no mercenarie, - And though he holy were and virtuous, - He was to sinful men not despitous, - Ne of his speche dangerous ne digne,[637] - But in his teaching discrete and benigne. - To drawen folk to heaven with fairenesse - By good ensample was his businesse. - But if it were any persone obstinat, - What so he were of highe or low estate, - Him wolde he snibben[638] sharply for the nones. - A better priest I trow nowhere non is. - He waited after no pomp ne reverence, - Ne maked him no spiced[639] conscience, - But Christes love and His apostles twelve, - He taught, but first he followed it himselve. - -[Illustration: King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 15th century.] - -The fifteenth century is generally believed to have been especially -religiously dead. There are two ways of looking at it; we may talk, not -without some reason, of the stagnation of the fag end of medivalism, of -the wealth and worldliness and neglect of the prelates, of the -superstition of the people, and so forth; but one fact, which still exists -all over the country, is enough by itself to work instant conviction that -there is another side to the question--the church building of the century. -Our forefathers in the fifteenth century had enough of life and -originality to develop here in England a new variety of Gothic art -distinctly different from the development of the art on the Continent of -Europe; a reaction against the luxuriant beauty of the Decorated; with a -masculine strength in its lines, and a practical modification of plan and -elevation so as to obtain spacious, lofty interiors. Take its grand towers -as a measure of its artistic power; call to mind the use of painted -windows as the great means of coloured decoration; study the elaboration -and richness of the roofs and chancel screens of Norfolk and Devon. -Calculate the immense quantity of church architecture and art executed in -the fifteenth century, not only in monasteries and cathedrals, but in -parish churches; think of the magnificent parish churches of Norfolk, -Suffolk, Lincolnshire, and Somerset, and of the rising towns in Yorkshire -and Lancashire. Remember that they were not commissioned and paid for by -the parochial clergy, for we have shown that they had nothing to spare; -not by the nobility, for they were half ruined by the Wars of the Roses; -but by the large minds of the rising middle class, and out of the wealth -which trade and commerce brought them. - -[Illustration: Magdalen College, Oxford, 15th century.] - -[Illustration: St. Michael's, Coventry, 15th century.] - -This one piece of evidence is enough to prove the existence of vigorous -religious faith among the people. At the same time, kings and prelates -were founding colleges and schools, _e.g._ Winchester and Eton, New and -King's. Country gentlemen were founding chantries and supplying themselves -with domestic chaplains, and the traders of the towns were founding gilds -and services in order to obtain for themselves and those belonging to them -additional means of grace and closer pastoral care. It is not possible to -believe in the face of such facts that there was not a great deal of very -earnest religion in the fifteenth century. Abuses and false doctrines and -superstitions there were in abundance, but the religious spirit of the -fifteenth century was already striving earnestly for reform, and -accumulating that force of public opinion which broke out in the -Reformation of the sixteenth century, and compelled Rome itself, after -frustrating the Councils of Constance and Basle, to make the reforms of -the Council of Trent. - -Contrast this with the three centuries which followed; with the cessation -of all building of new churches and the neglect of the old ones, and the -shameful condition of the services in many of them; with the absence of -the extension of Church machinery to meet the needs of the increasing -population; and it will be hard to believe that there was not much more of -religious earnestness in the fifteenth century than in those which -followed it. The _Italian relation of England_[640] says of the people of -the later part of this century: "They all attend mass every day, and say -many paternosters in public, the women carrying long rosaries in their -hands, and any who can read taking the office of Our Lady with them, and, -with some companion, reciting it in the church verse by verse in a low -voice, after the manner of the religious. They always hear mass on Sunday -in their parish church, and give liberal alms because they may not offer -less than a piece of money whereof fourteen are equal to a gold ducat, nor -do they omit any form incumbent upon good Christians." - - - - -APPENDIX I. - - -The history of the parish of Whalley in Lancashire affords an interesting -illustration of the growth of parochial organization. The original parish -was a vast tract of wild hilly country, fifty miles long, covering two -hundred superficial miles, in the north-west corner of Lancashire, chiefly -forest and moor, with fertile pastures in the broad valleys of the Ribble, -the Hodder, the Calder, and their tributaries. The Saxon rectors were also -lords of the manor; they were married men, and the rectory, together with -the manor, descended from father to son. These facts suggest that the lord -of the manor, in early days after the Conversion, turned his house into a -semi-secular monastery such as those we have described (p. 35), retaining -the headship of it for himself, and handing it down to his heirs; and that -in course of time, instead of developing into a monastery of a stricter -kind, it changed into the parochial type of rectory. From the earliest -known time, and throughout the Saxon period, however, the reverend lords -of the manor rejoiced in the title of dean, the Bishop of Worcester -having committed to them large ecclesiastical jurisdiction over this -remote and inaccessible corner of his diocese. - -After the Conquest, the lordship of this part of the country, including -the Manor of Whalley, was given to Henry de Lacy, who laid claim to the -advowson of the benefice of Whalley; but for a time the difficulty was got -over by De Lacy presenting the hereditary claimant, De Lacy thus -establishing a precedent of right of presentation, the hereditary claimant -treating it as nothing more than a certificate that he was the rightful -heir. - -The names of the deans for several generations are given in a "Description -of Blackburnshire," which was probably written by J. Lindlay, Abbot of -Whalley (A.D. 1342-1377); they are Spartlingus, Lewlphus, Cutwulph, -Cudwolphus, Henry the Elder, Robert, Henry the Younger, William, Geoffry -the Elder, Geoffry the Younger, and Roger. - -The decree of the Lateran Council in 1215 prohibited these hereditary -successions to benefices, and Roger, the last dean, resigned the benefice -and surrendered the advowson to the De Lacys, and "settled at the Ville of -Tunlay as the progenitor of a flourishing family yet subsisting after a -lapse of six centuries, legitimate descendants of the Deans of Whalley and -Lords of Blackburnshire."[641] Thereupon De Lacy presented Peter de -Cestria to the rectory,[642] and during his incumbency (in 1284) -appropriated the rectory to the Monastery of Stanlaw. - -Before this date--how long before is not known--there were already in the -parish seven chapels of old foundation. Three of them--Clitherhow, Calne, -and Burnley--are named in a charter of the time of Henry I.; a -fourth--Elvethan--is named in a charter of the time of Richard I.; the -rest are not named till the grant of the advowson of H. de Lacy in 1284. -The probability is that the first three or four had, from time to time, -been founded by the old Saxon deans, in the villages which sprang up in -their extensive manor; the remainder, perhaps, at a later period between -the Conquest and the last quarter of the thirteenth century. They were all -endowed with glebe land of about thirty-five acres each. - -At the next vacancy, the convent of Stanlaw entered upon its enjoyment of -the Rectory of Whalley. How they served it is not known. In old times -there is evidence that the dean had at least a chaplain and clerk to aid -him in his duties. Probably the convent retained the staff of assistant -clergy, whatever it might be, and added another in place of the rector. - -In 1296 the abbot and convent of Stanlaw, with the leave of their founder, -H. de Lacy, and with the sanction of Pope Nicholas IV., removed their -house to the more healthy site afforded by their new estate at Whalley. -Two years after, in 1298, Walter Langton, Bishop of Lichfield, ordained -the foundation of a perpetual vicarage with a manse, thirty acres of -meadow and corn land, with rights of pasturage, etc., and the altarage of -the mother church and its seven chapels. - -Thirty-two years afterwards, on the petition of the abbot and convent, who -represented the necessities of the house (it was in that year that the -foundation of the abbey church was laid) and the immoderate endowment of -the vicarage, Roger, Bishop of Lichfield, reduced the endowment of the -vicarage to a manse and yard within the abbey close, with a pittance, for -which he was to pay 13_s._ 4_d._ a year, hay and oats for his horse, the -glebe lands of the chapels, and fifty-six marks in money, for which he was -to bear the burden of the chapels, find a priest for each chapel, bread -and wine for the Holy Communion, etc. The fourth vicar, William de Wolf, -was required, before his presentation, to bind himself by oath never to -procure an augmentation of the endowment. - -So things continued till the death of the fifth vicar, John of Topcliffe, -brother of the abbot, when the abbot and convent presented one of -themselves to the vicarage, and so added its endowment to the revenues of -the house. - -The next matter of interest in the history of the parish is the beginning -of new foundations to supply the spiritual needs of new centres of -population. Padiham was founded in 30 Henry VI.; Whitewell, Holme, and -Marsden between the reigns of Henry VI. and Henry VII.; then Newchurch in -Rossendale, 3 Henry VIII.; Goodshaw, 32 Henry VIII.; Newchurch in Pendle, -35 Henry VIII.; Accrington was taken out of Alvetham in 1577; and lastly, -Bacup in Rossendale was founded in 1788. - -To complete the story: at the dissolution of the monasteries the Abbot of -Whalley was hanged on a charge of treason. The king made a compulsory -exchange of the great tithes of the parish of Whalley, on which he seized -as part of the abbey property, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, for some -of the lands which belonged to the Kentish see. Archbishop Juxon augmented -the living by surrendering to it, on the renewal of a lease which brought -it within his power, the whole Easter roll and surplice fees, on -condition that the curates of the chapels should receive the house, and -pay to the vicar in different proportions 42, which, with 38 hitherto -paid, would augment the vicarage to 80. Archbishop Sancroft, on a -subsequent renewal (1685), with the fine purchased lands to provide -stipends for the curates of the chapels-of-ease hitherto unprovided for. - -The record of an inquisition in the time of the Commonwealth into this and -neighbouring churches survives, and gives an interesting account of the -parish and its chapelries. In every case the account ends with the -statement that the inhabitants desire to be made a parish. - - - - -APPENDIX II. - - -We have in the case of two Rural Deaneries, by way of sample, tabulated -the benefices as entered in the "Taxatio" and the "Valor" with one another -and with the modern Clergy List; with a few notes upon them. - -DIOCESE OF LONDON.--DEANERY OF BERDESTAPLE. - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - From Domesday Book. | "Taxatio" of Pope Nicholas | - | IV., 1292 A.D., p. 21. | - -------------------------------------|--------------------------------| - | s. d.| - The Manor and Church belonged to the |Ecclia de Thurrok pva 5 6 8| - See of London. | | - | | - | | - | | - Ditto | " Oresith | - | (cum Vicar) 16 0 0| - Cedd the Apostle of the East Saxons | " Westilleby 13 16 4| - founded one of his centres of | | - evangelization here, A.D. 653. In | | - the time of Edward the Confessor it| " Estilleby 14 13 4| - was divided into West T. held by | | - Aluric, a priest and freeman, and | | - East T. held by Tedric, a freeman. | | - | | - | | - In Saxon times these were one parish.| " Hornyngdone 12 0 0| - Time of the Confessor "a certain | Vicar ejusdem 4 13 4| - deacon had here 30 acres and 1/4 of| | - a church." | | - This church belonged to Barking | | - nunnery. | | - From Saxon times belonged to Barking | " Mockyng 14 13 4| - nunnery. | | - Probably had a church in Saxon times.| " Stanford 16 0 0| - Afterwards Wm. de Septem Moles gave| | - his manor with a free chapel to | | - Waltham Abbey. | | - In Saxon times the manor and church | " Bulephen 13 6 8| - belonged to Barking N. | | - After the Conquest this parish | " Coringham[644] 8 0 0| - belonged to B. of London. | | - | " Bures 6 13 4| - | " Bourgsted[645] 13 6 8| - | | - The manor and church in the time of | " Burgsted | - the Confessor belonged to Earl | parva[646] 4 13 4| - Godwin, after the Conquest to the | | - See of London. | | - Manor and church given at the | " Leyndon 13 6 8| - Conquest to the See of London. | | - | | - | | - | | - | " Fobbing 10 0 0| - | " Chaldewell 5 6 8| - Originally one parish: by the time | " Magna | - of Ed. Confessor a large manor in | Benafleth 6 13 4| - S. Benfleet with church belonged to| " Benefleth | - Barking Abbey; a large manor in N. | parva[648] 0 0 0| - Benfleet with church belonged to | | - Earl Harold. | | - Time of E. Confessor principal part | " Dontone 5 6 8| - belonged to a priest. Wm. gave it | | - to the Albini family, founders of | | - Bec Abbey. They gave this manor to | | - Okeburn, Wilts., a cell of Bec. | | - After the Conquest, King Wm. gave | " Hoton 9 16 8| - this manor and church to Battle | " Schenefeud 10 0 0| - Abbey. | | - At the Conquest, known as Ramsden, | " Duddyngeherst 8 0 0| - subsequently divided into 2 manors | " Gingg Rad'i 6 13 4| - and parishes, distinguished by | | - names of their owners. | " Ramesden Cray 5 6 8| - | " Ramsden | - | Belhous 6 13 4| - | " Dounham 5 6 8| - | " Fangge (or | - | Fanga) 6 13 4| - | " Novendon[650] 0 0 0| - | " Thunderle[650] 0 0 0| - | " Wykfore[650] 0 0 0| - | " Piches[650] 0 0 0| - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - | "Valor Ecclesiasticus" of Hen. | Clergy List, 1895 A.D. - | VIII., 1534 A.D., I 448. | - |------------------------------------|--------------------------------- - | s. d.| - |Thurrock Parva R 3 15 0|Thurrock East (or Little) 400 - | | - |Thurrock Grays V per |Thurrock West, with Purfleet 170 - | ear{m} Epi Lond. dal' | - | 6 Apr., 1582 5 0 8|Grays Thurrock 175 - |Orsett R 29 4 8|Orsett 500 - | Chantry 6 13 4| - |Westilbury R 20 0 0|Tilbury West 480 - | Free chapel of a hermit 1 6 8| - | Chantry 10 0 0| - |Estilbury V 12 17 0|Tilbury East 160 - | Free Chapel which W. | - | Pace lately held 3 0 0| - | Another Free Chapel | - | which W{m} More | - | lately held 1 11 0| - |Esthornden R 9 14 0|Horndon East 435 - | Free chapel 0 5 0| - |Westhorndon R 14 13 4|Horndon West, with - | | Ingrave[643] 380 - |Horndon super Montem V 14 6 8|Horndon-on-the-Hill 250 - | | - |Mocking V 10 0 0|Mucking 172 - | | - |Standeford le hope R 12 19 8|Stanford-le-Hope 600 - | Free Chapel 2 0 0| - | Chantry 7 18 0| - | | - |Bulfanne R 23 0 0|Bulphan 345 - | | - |Corringham R 22 3 8|Corringham 560 - | | - |Boures Gifford R 25 0 0|Bowers Gifford 406 - |Burstede magna V 17 6 8|Burstead, Great 100 - | Chantry 7 0 0|Billericay 320 - |Burstede Parva R 11 10 4|Little Burstead 270 - | | - | | - | | - |Laindon R with chapel of |Laindon with Basildon 500 - | Bartilsdon annexed 35 6 8| - | Free Chapel 3 6 8| - | Chantry 6 0 4| - |Langdon R[647] 10 3 8|Laindon Hills 224 - |Fobbing R 21 0 0|Fobbing 534 - |Chadwell R 17 13 4|Chadwell 220 - |South Benflete V 16 5 4|South Benfleet 180 - | | - | |North Benfleet 430 - | | - | | - | | - |Donton R 14 12 8|Dunton Waylett 320 - | | - | | - | | - | | - |Hutton R 8 0 0|Hutton 230 - |Shenfield R 14 18 4|Shenfield 390 - | | - |Duddinghurst R 10 3 8|Doddinghurst 420 - |Ingraffe R 7 13 5| - | | - |Ramsden Cranes R 19 12 0|Ramsden Crays 380 - |Ramsden Belhous R 14 0 0|Stock-Harward with - | Free chapel[649] 3 0 0| Ramsden Belhous 400 - |Downeham R 12 2 8| Downham 340 - |Fange R 14 0 4| Vange 141 - | | - |Novingdon R 10 13 4| Nevendon 150 - |Thundersley R 14 13 4| Thundersley 400 - |Wykeford R 13 13 4| Wickford 310 - |Pittesey R 10 13 4| Pitsea 300 - - -DIOCESE OF CANTERBURY. DEANERY OF BRIGG. - - ----------------------------------------------------------- - "Taxatio" of Pope Nicholas IV., | - 1292 A.D.[651] | - ----------------------------------------------------------| - s. d.| - Ecclesia de Wyngham p. portione Prepositi et 40 0 0| - Vicarii | - Portio Capell de Esse [Ash] cum Capella [of 60 0 0| - Overland] eidem annexa | - | - Portio de Godewynstone 46 13 4| - Portio Capell de Nonynton cum Capella de 53 6 8| - Wymelingwelde eidem annexa | - | - [NOTE.--Wingham was a tract of country part of | - the possessions of the See of Canterbury from | - the earliest Saxon times. No doubt the | - churches and chapels here mentioned had been | - built by successive archbishops. Archbishop | - Kilwardby, 1273 A.D., designed to found a | - College of secular priests in the Church of | - Wingham, but, being interrupted by death, his | - successor Peckham carried out the design. He | - made the Vicar also the Provost; made the | - chapelries (except Overland) distinct | - parishes, appointed Vicarages in them, and | - gave the parishes as prebends to the 5 | - Canons, and appointed 2 priests, 2 deacons, | - 2 sub-deacons, and a sexton to the service of | - the church. At subsequent periods 2 chantries | - were founded in Ash Church, one valued in the | - "Valor" at 14 13_s._ 4_d._, out of which a | - life pension of 5 was paid to the late | - cantarist, and the other at 7 6_s._ 8_d._] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - Ecclia de Sturmine cum penc'(40_s._ to the 12 13 4| - Prior of Leeds) | - Ecclia de Preston (appr' to St. Augustine, Cant.) 20 0 0| - Vicar ejusdem 4 15 4| - Ecclia de Eylinston 10 0 0| - Ecclia de Adesham cum capella 53 6 8| - | - Ecclia de Chilindene 5 6 8| - Ecclia de Lyvingesburn[655] 10 0 0| - Ecclia de Wytham 33 6 8| - Vicarius ejusdem 5 6 8| - Ecclia de Littleburne (appr' to St. Aug., 20 0 0| - Cant.) | - | - Ecclia de Pat'kes burne (appr' to the Prior of 33 6 8| - Merton) | - | - Ecclia de Kinggeston 12 0 0| - Ecclia de Bisshopes burne cum capella 33 6 8| - | - | - Ecclia de Pecham 20 0 0| - Vicarius ejusdem 4 6 8| - Ecclia de Waltham 11 6 8| - | - Ecclia de Elmestede cum penc' (20 marks 16 0 0| - to Mr. Solomon de Burn for his life) | - Ecclia de Chertham 26 13 4| - | - Ecclia de Chileham 40 0 0| - | - Vicarius ejusdem 6 13 4| - | - Ecclia de Magna Hardres cum capella 26 13 4| - | - | - | - Ecclia de Croyndale cum penc' (25_s._ to 11 16 8| - Prior of Leeds) | - Ecclia de Brok 6 13 4| - Ecclia de Wy (appr' to Battle Abbey) 43 6 8| - | - Vicarius ejusdem 10 13 4| - | - [NOTE.--I, Kempe Archbp. of York, founded the | - | - College of secular priests in the Church of | - Wye, 1447 A.D.][656] | - | - | - | - | - Ecclia de Bocton Allulphi 40 0 0| - | - | - Ecclia de Godmsham cum capella 53 6 8| - | - | - | - Ecclia de Itham 30 0 0| - | - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - "Valor Ecclesiasticus," | Clergy List, - of Hen. VIII., 1534 A.D.[652] | 1895 A.D. - ---------------------------------------------------|-------------------- - s. d.| - Wyngham cum Capellis de Asshe, Godwynston |Wingham 162 - Nonyngton et Wymyngweld appr' Preposito |Ash (Chapel of 260 - et Canonicis de Wyngham | Overland - | ruined) - |Godenstone 200 - Master Edmund de Cranmere[653] p'vost hath |Nonington 280 - in the Church of Wyngham 45 6 8 |Womenswold 160 - Profits of the Chapel of Overland 20 0 0 | - -------- | - Deduct for parish priest he is | - bound to keep there 9 0 0 | - And for the sexton of Wyngham 3 0 0 | - And for life pension to the late | - provost, Mr. Wm. Warham[654] 22 0 0 31 6 3| - -------- | - The 5 canons gross receipts | - from the tithes of Ashe | - with the chapels of | - Rusheborough, Nunnington, | - Goodneston, and | - Wymengewelde 143 7 7-1/2 | - | - The deductions including | - salaries of 5 priests to | - serve the 5 chapels at | - about 6 each, and for | - two priests doing service | - in Wyngham Church 6 11_s._ | - 8_d._ each, for 2 quiristers | - each 13_s._ 4_d._, for | - sexton's daily service in | - church 4 6_s._ 8_d._, and | - for divers obits 51 5_s._ | - 4_d._ 59 0 12-1/2 84 5 11| - ----------- | - Stormouth 18 19 10|Stourmouth 300 - | - Preston appr' to St. Augustine, Cant. 0 0 0|Preston 000 - The Vicar has 9 15 0|Vicarage 150 - (Not mentioned in "Valor," or by Hasted.) | - Asham with chapel of Staple annexed 28 12 0|Adisham 450 - The priest at Staple has 6 13 4|Staple 450 - Chelynden 4 18 8|Chillenden 120 - Bekesborne[655] 5 13 8|Bekesborne 150 - Wikham breux 29 11 6|Wickhambreux 603 - | - Lytelbourne (appr' to St. Augustine, |Littlebourn 250 - Cant.) | - The Vicar has 8 0 0| - Patryksborne with the chapel of Brigge 11 7 4|Patrixbourn 350 - (appr' to Merton) | - The priest of the chapel has 2 13 4| - Kyngston 16 0 0|Kingston 350 - Bysshoppysborne with Church of Barham 35 19 9|Bishopsburne 500 - annexed | - Stipend to the priest of Barham 8 0 0|Barham 650 - Petham (appr' to St. Osyth Priory) 0 0 0}| - The Vicar has 8 0 1}|Waltham with 575 - Waltham (appr' to St. Gregory, Cant.) 0 0 0}| Petham - The Vicar has 7 15 4}| - Elmeston 6 7 7|Elmstone 180 - | - Chartham with the chapel of Horton 41 5 10|Chartham 550 - Salary of priest at Horton 1 6 8| - Chelham with the chapel of Molayshe 0 0 0|Chilham 700 - (appr' to Abbess of Sion) | - Vicar has 5 3 4|Molash 90 - Salary of priest at chapel 6 13 4| - Grete Hardres with Chapel of Stelling 19 13 0|Upper Hardres 400 - annexed | with - Deduction for life pension to late 0 0 0| Stelling - parson (6 13_s._ 4_d._) | - Crundale with pension to Prior of Leeds, 11 10 8|Crundale 320 - 35_s._ | - Broke 7 7 0| - Church of Wye (appr' to the monks of 0 0 0| - Battle) | - College of Wye Richard Walker Vicar and 0 0 0| - Master of the College | - Total receipts of the College, 125 93 2 0-1/2|Wye Vicarage 270 - 15_s._ 4-1/2_d._ | - Deductions. Among them for 3 priests, | - clerks, quiristers, scole master and | - other ministers, 68; to the Provost, | - 13 6_s._ 8_d._; to poor people, 3 | - 6_s._ 8_d._; founder's obit, 3 3_s._ | - 4_d._; etc., 32 13_s._ 4_d._ | - Bocton Aluph (appr' to College of Wye) 0 0 0| - The Vicar has 5 16 10| - Godmersham cum capella de Chullok (appr' 0 0 0|Godmersham 160 - to Xt. Ch., Cant.) | - Vicar, 16 0_s._ 12_d._; deduct for 9 7 8|Challock 250 - priest to serve chapel, 6 13_s._ 4_d._ - Ikham 25 11 8|Ickham 803 - Stodmarsshe (appr' to hospital for poor 0 0 0|Stodmarsh 135 - priests, Cant.) | - - - - -APPENDIX III. - - -The illustrations which we have been able to give of our subject from the -pictures in Medival MSS. are only a handful selected out of a very great -number. It may be useful to some students to have references to the MSS. -in the British Museum, where other illustrations of special interest may -be found. - -The most useful for illustrations of ecclesiastical rites, and -incidentally for the vestments of all orders of the clergy, and for -_instrumenta_, are the Pontificals; _e.g._-- - -The Pontifical of Landulph of Milan, 9th century, engraved in -D'Agincourt's _L'Art par ses monuments_; Painting, Plates XXXVII. and -XXXVIII. - -Tiberius B. VIII. contains two MSS. One English, of the end of the 12th or -beginning of the 13th century. - -The other French, date, A.D. 1365. - -Egerton 931. French, of the Diocese of Sens, date, 1346-1378. - -Lansdown 451. English of Diocese of Exeter, 14th century. - -Egerton 1067. French, 15th century. - -Add. MS. 14805. German, 15th century. - -Add. 19898. French, late 15th century. - -An early printed Pontifical, 471, f. 2, with engravings, Venice, A.D. -1520. There are other editions printed in other countries, but with the -same engravings. - -BAPTISM.--_By affusion._--16 G. VI. f. 128, 14th century. Egerton 745, f. -1, early 14th century. Egerton 2019, f. 135, late 15th century. - -_With aspersion._--10 E. VI. f. 230_b_, early 14th century. (Adult in -temporary font, bishop sprinkling with aspersoir.) - -_By immersion._--10 E. IV. f. 125, early 14th century. 16 G. VI. f. 128, -14th century. 6 E. VI. f. 171, and f. 318_b_, 14th century. Harl. 2278, f. -76, 15th century. Add. 29704, f. 18, close of 14th century. Nero A. IV. f. -81_b_, 14th century. Lansdown 451, f. 225_b_, 15th century. 20 C. VII. -190_b_, 14th century. 16 G. VI. f. 14. - -CONFIRMATION.--6 E. VI. f. 372, 14th century. Egerton 1067, f. 12, late -15th century. Printed Pontifical 471, f. 2, page 2, A.D. 1520. - -MARRIAGE.--Nero E. II. f. 115 and f. 217, 14th century. Harl. 2278, f. -462. 6 E. VI. 257, and f. 375 and f. 414_b_, 14th century. 10 E. VI. f. -229_b_ and f. 313, 14th century. 14 E. IV. f. 30 and f. 275, 15th century. -Harl. 4379, f. 6, 14th century. 16 G. VI. f. xx., 14th century. 20 C. VII. -f. 10, 14th century. Nero E. II. f. 115, 14th century. Printed Sarum -Primer, A.D. 1531, Paris. G. 12136, in Kalendar, June. - -PREACHING.--Egerton 745, f. 46, 14th century. Add. 29433, f. 16, early -15th century. Add. 17280, f. 55, late 15th century. 6 E. VII. f. 75_b_, -14th century. 14 E. III. f. 9_b_, early 14th century. - -CONFESSION.--6 E. VII. f. 500, 14th century. Add. 25698, f. 9, Flemish, c. -A.D. 1492. Arundel 83, f. 12, 14th century. Egerton 2019, f. 135, c. A.D. -1450. 6 E. VI. f. 357, and f. 369_b_, and f. 414_b_, 14th century. Add. -18851, f. 69_b_, end of 15th century. 6 E. VII. f. 506_b_, 14th century. - - Printed Pontifical 471, f. 2, p. 177, and p. 203_b_, A.D. 1523. _To a - Friar_, Royal, 16 G. VI. f. 159, etc. Egerton 2019, f. 135, 15th - century. _Of Clergy_, Royal, 6 E. VII. - -PENANCE.--16 G. VI. f. 421, 14th century. Arundel 83, f. 12, 14th century. -6 E. VII. f. 443, 14th century. - - Printed Pontifical 471, f. 2, p. 155, A.D. 1520. - -CELEBRATION OF MASS.--10 E. IV. f. 211, _with housel cloth_, 14th century; -and 2 B. VII. f. 260_b_, late 13th century. 16 G. VI. f. 130 and f. 139, -14th century. Nero E. II. f. 129_b_, 14th century. Egerton 2125, f. 143, -late 15th century. Royal 14 E. III. f. 17, early 14th century. Royal 6 E. -VI. f. 24_b_. - - Add. 25698, f. 2, c. A.D. 1492. Add. 29704, f. 7 (_elevation_), and - 16997, f. 144, 15th century. Plut. 279, f. 12, 15th century. Add. - 16997, f. 145, French, 15th century. Add. 15813, f. 155, Italian, A.D. - 1525. Egerton 931, f. 78_b_ (1346-78). - - _With only one candle on altar_, Nero E. II. f. 202, etc., 14th - century. - -PROCESSIONS.--16 G. VI. f. 30, f. 350, and f. 351. Nero E. II. f. 36, f. -73, 14th century. 10 E. IV. f. 231_b_, 14th century. P. La Croix, La Vie -Militaire, etc., plate 257. - -VISITATION OF THE SICK.--6 E. VI. f. 427_b_, 14th century. 6 E. VII. f. -70, 14th century. Add. 25698, f. 5, Flemish, c. A.D. 1492. Egerton 2019, -f. 142, late 15th century. 20 C. VII. f. 78_b_, 14th century. Lansdown -451, f. 234, early 15th century. Printed Sarum Primer, A.D. 1531, in -Kalendar, December, and at f. 102_b_. - -FUNERAL CEREMONIES.--_Enshrouding the corpse._--Egerton, 2019, f. 142, -15th century. _In church._--16 G. VI. f. 412, A.D. 1270. 2 B. VII. f. 222, -f. 300, and f. 315, c. A.D. 1260. Sloane 346, f. 22_b_, 14th century. Add. -16997, f. 119_b_, and f. 171_b_, 15th century. 16 G. VI. f. 315, 14th -century. Nero E. III. f. 131, 15th century. Nero E. II. f. 200_b_, 14th -century. _At the church door._--Add. 10294, f. 72 and f. 89, 14th century. -_Being carried into church._--Add. 12228, f. 8, early 14th century. -_Funeral procession._--20 C. VII. f. 40_b_ and f. 200, 14th century. -Egerton 1070, f. 54_b_, c. A.D. 1480. Add. 15813, f. 263, A.D. 1525. 6 E. -VI. f. 481, 14th century. Add. 10294, f. 86 and f. 88, early 14th century. -_Commendatio defunctorum._--Egerton 2125, f. 117_b_, late 14th century. -Egerton 1070, f. 54_b_, A.D. 1480. 14 E. IV. f. 208_b_. 20 C. VII. f. 10, -14th century. Printed Sarum Psalter, A.D. 1531, f. 98. See also Norwich -Vol. of the Archological Institute, p. 105. _Burial._--Claudius B. IV. f. -11, f. 18, f. 44, f. 72, f. 74, and f. 85, 11th century. Egerton 2125, f. -18, early 16th century. Egerton 2019, f. 135, c. A.D. 1450. _Aspersing -coffin._--16 G. VI. f. 315, 14th century; and Harl. 2278, f. 22_b_, 15th -century. _Tomb of a king._--20 C. VII. f. 40_b_, 14th century. Nero E. II. -f. 72_b_, 14th century. _Tomb with lamp over it._--Egerton Plut. 745, f. -62_b_, 14th century. _Sword and horn over tomb._--16 G. VI. f. 180_b_, -14th century. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Absenteeism, 146, 326, 330 - - Acca's Cross, base of, 27 - - Addi the Ealdorman, consecration of his church at North Burton, 48 - - lfric, homilies, 223 - - Aged clergy, provision for, 290-296 - - Aidan, apostle of Northumbria, 20; - his schools, 21; - preaching, 21, 22, 46 - - Alb, 191 - - Alcuin, 36 - - Aldhelm, 31, 49 - - Aldhelm's religious poetry, 241 - - Ale, church, and other ales, 317 - - Alfred, laws of, 65, 76, 80, 82 - - Alfriston parsonage house, 152, 153 - - Amice, 192 - - Amyss, 195 - - Anglo-Saxon conquest, manner of, 3, 5 - - Anglo-Saxon monasteries, in France, 21; - in Kent, 29; - Northumbria, 29; - East Anglia, 31; - Wessex, 31; - Mercia, 31-33; - list of others, 33; - life of the, 35; - destruction of, by Danes, 37; - restoration of, by Edgar and Dunstan, 37 - - Anglo-Saxons, their civil organization, 5; - religion, 7; - temples, 9-11; - priesthood, 11; - sacred places, 12 - - Archdeacons, 173, 533; - of Lincoln, 353, 354; - of Chichester, 362 - - Armour worn by clergy, 172, 175, 177 - - Assistant curates, 50, 105, 106 - - Athelstan, law of, encouraging landowners to build churches on their - estates, 51; - laws of, 66 - - Augustine, apostle of Kent, 15 - - Augustine, St., monastery of, 29, 35 - - - Banns of marriage, 235 - - Baptism, within thirty days under penalty, 58, 68, 234 - - Bede, his description of mission work, 23; - letter to Archbishop Egbert, 49 - - Bede Roll, 211, 311, 472, 496 - - Bedesmen, 449 - - Bell to be rung for service, 70, 447; - in carrying viaticum to the sick, 239; - sacring bell, 246 - - Benedict Biscop, 30, 36 - - Benefices, parochial, subdivision of, 56 - - Berdstaple Deanery, from "Taxatio," 382; - comparison of its parishes in the "Taxatio," "Valor," and Clergy List, - 562 - - Berneston, 118 - - Beverley Minster, 548 - - Bidding Prayer, 207, 208 - - Birinus, apostle of Wessex, 21 - - Boniface (Winfrid), 22, 60 - - Bradfield-on-Avon, church at, 31, 32 - - Bridge chapels, 527 - - Brigg Rural Deanery, comparison of its parishes in the "Taxatio," - "Valor," and Clergy List, 564 - - Bristol, 499; - a Saxon burgh, its Saxon churches, 499; - religious houses, 500; - growth of parishes, 500; - inclusion of Temple and Redcliff, 502 - - Britons, survivors of the Anglo-Saxon conquest, 4 - - Burton-on-Trent, monastery and town of, 508 - - Bury St. Edmunds, 510 - - - Cdmon, his poems, 250 - - Canons, 73, 335; - of Lincoln, 350-352; - of Chichester, 360 - - Canterbury, King's School at, 131; - archbishops of, of humble birth, 133 - - Canute, 37; - laws of, 52, 76, 80, 86 - - Career offered by the Church, 129, 134 - - Cathedral close, 340 - - Cathedral, organization of, 334; - of secular canons, 335; - monastic, 336; - idea of, 350; - description of, 357 - - Cealchythe, council at, 41, 78, 82 - - Cedd, apostle of the East Saxons, 30, 36, 39 - - Celibacy of the clergy, 66, 73, 258-273, 282, 283 - - Chadd, Bishop of Mercia, 30, 31, 36 - - Chantries, 212; - of Burghersh, 341, 356, 447; - in Lincoln Cathedral, 354; - in Chichester Cathedral, 362; - definition of, 438; - number and distribution of, 442, 443; - foundation deed of, 444, 469; - of the Black Prince, 446; - Richard III., 447; - Henry VII., 447; - nomination to, 451; - dissolution of, 471 - - Chantry chapels, 453-456; - furniture of, 445; - sometimes chapels-of-ease, 467 - - Chantry priests, of cathedrals incorporated, London, 443; - York, 503; - of towns, sometimes a priest's house provided for them, 518, 525; - remuneration of, 461-464; - duties of, 465, 466; - sometimes schoolmasters, 469-471 - - Chapels, royal, 46, 123; - parochial, 50, 110; - free, 123, 124; - domestic chantry, 421, 422, 457 - - Chaplains, parish, 105, 106, 111; - domestic, 409-423 - - Chapter house, 342; - use of, 357 - - Chasuble, 191, 244 - - Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," extracts from, 172, 271, 304 - - Choristers, of Lincoln Cathedral, 356; - song schools for, 469, 471 - - Churches, Saxon, different status of, 52, 54; - number of, 54; - repair of, 66, 188; - to be reserved to sacred uses, 69; - burial in, 69; - dilapidations, 163; - their architecture, 184; - furniture, 187, 189, 190 - - Churchyard, 69, 205, 281, 316; - right of sanctuary in, 308; - sports, markets, etc., in, 316, 317 - - Clergy, number of, in 1377, 390 - - Clerk, parish. _See_ Parish clerk - - Clitheroe, castle church of, 120 - - Clovesho, councils at, 41, 60, 240 - - Clugny, Abbey of, 368 - - Clun, Shropshire, 112 - - Colchester Castle, domestic chapel, 410 - - Colleges, at universities, 140; - Rotherham, 517; - Wingham, 564, _note_; - Wye, 566, _note_ - - Communion, Holy, doctrine of, 75, 237; - in one kind, 235 - - Confession, 234, 239, 536, 543 - - Confirmation, 238; - sponsors at, 59, 69, 234 - - Confraternity of a religious house, 439 - - Conisborough, 103, 409 - - Conversion of the English, 14, 21-23 - - Conway Castle chapel, 410 - - Cope, 193, 196 - - Costume of clergy, ordinary, 165, 169-171 - - Course of studies, 139 - - Courts, ecclesiastical, 532, 544 - - Coventry St. Michael's Church, 555 - - Cranmer, Edmund, 564, 565 _note_ - - Cranmer on the education of the lower classes, 131 - - Creed, Apostles', exposition of, 217; - metrical version of, 238 - - Cross, station, 24 - - Cuckfield Church, 455 - - Customs on holy days, 311 - - Cuthbert, 23 - - - Daily celebration of Holy Communion, 205, 206 - - Daily Psalter in cathedrals, 351 - - Daily service in churches and chapels, 205, 207 - - Dalmatic, 192 - - Danes destroy monasteries and churches, 37 - - Dean and chapter, 336; - of Lincoln, 345; - of Chichester, 361 - - Delamere, Abbot of St. Albans, 199 - - Denington, Chantry Chapel at, 456 - - Devotional books, 225; - poetry, 255-257 - - Dilapidations, 162 - - Dioceses, Saxon, 20; - subdivision of, 41, 42 - - Discipline, 531; - of clergy, 533-535, 537; - of laity, 535-544; - defiance of, 542, 543 - - Dispensations, for obstacles to ordination, 146, 275; - for non-residence, 146 - - "Dives and Pauper," 249 - - Domesday Survey, mention of churches and clergy in, 54 - - Domestic chapels, 409; - Norman, 409, 418; - Edwardian, 410; - later, 412-437; - chantries in, 421, 457; - oratories, 422; - number of, 423; - licences for, 424, 428; - marriages in, 431; - furniture of, 433; - services in, 435 - - Domestic chaplains, in the sixth century, 408; - Saxon, 409, 417; - Norman, 409, 419-437; - members of religious houses acting as, 418; - emoluments of, 419, 420, 462 - - Dress, ordinary, of the clergy, 164-172, 233 - - Duns Scotus, 139 - - Dunstable Priory, 102, 324 - - Dunstan, 37, 66 - - Durham Cathedral, 87 - - - Ecclesiastical courts, 86, 532 - - "Edgar, Canons of," 66 - - Edmund, laws of, 66 - - Egbert, Archbishop of York, 49; - constitutions of, 111 - - Elfric, canons of, 74 - - Endowments of parish churches, 45, 53 - - England, Church of, 41 - - Establishment of the Church among the English, 20 - - Ethelbert, King of Kent, laws of, 57, 58 - - Ethelred, laws of, 72, 82 - - Eucharist, rules for celebration of, 70; - doctrine of, 75 - - Evensong, 200, 203, 204 - - Exchange of benefice by bishops or priests forbidden, 68 - - Excommunication, general, 238, 544, 545 - - Exeter, chapels and religious houses in, 497; - parochial organization, 497 - - Eyam, cross at, 26 - - - Farming benefices, 321, 324, 326, 331, 403 - - Fasting, 60, 71 - - Felix, apostle of the East Angles, 21 - - Fifteenth century, character of, 553; - architecture of, 553 - - Firstfruits and tenths, 380 - - Folk-mote, 6 - - Foreign incumbents, 320 - - Fourteenth century, character of, 549 - - Free chapels, 124 - - Friars, at the universities, 140; - origin of, 370; - organization, 371; - work, 373; - success, 374; - interference with parochial clergy, 376; - poverty, 378 - - Furniture, of clergy houses, 174-182; - of churches, 187-191 - - - Gilds, definition of, 473; - trade, 475; - religious, 476-481; - social, 482; - at Ludlow, 473, 476; - Bristol, 476; - York, 476; - Norwich, 478; - Worcester, 478; - Birmingham, 478; - suppression of, 483 - - Glebe, size of, 55 - - Godparent, 59, 69, 234 - - Goodrich, Bishop of Ely, his monumental brass, 198 - - Granby, 103 - - Gratian's Decretals, 121 - - Gray, Archbishop Walter de, his "Register," 102, 116, 189 - - Greenstead Church, Essex (Saxon timber church), 52 - - Grostete, Bishop of Lincoln, 167, 281, 327, 336; - his "Castle of Love," 242 - - - Hampole, Richard of, 225 - - Harlow, 100 - - Heathenism, laws against, 58, 59, 68, 72 - - Heptarchic kingdoms, establishment of their churches, 20 - - Hertford, council at, 41 - - Hilda, St., 30 - - Holy days, 80 - - Holy loaf, 235, 403 - - Hood, 239 - - Hospitality of the clergy, 158-160 - - Hours, canonical, 74 - - Hugh of St. Victor, 138; - St., Bishop of Lincoln, 281, 322; - of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln, 280 - - Humble birth, bishops of, 133 - - Hundred, 5 - - - Illuminated MSS., references to, 567 - - Impropriation of benefices, 95-97; - forbidden without consent of bishops, 98 - - Ine, King of the West Saxons, laws of, 57, 58 - - Iona, 15 - - Ipswich, in Domesday, 506; - in the "Taxatio," 506; - convents of Austin Canons and Friars, 507; - hospitals, 507 - - Isolation of Anglo-Saxon townships, 6 - - - John Ball, priest, 171 - - Jutland, introduction of Christianity into, 17 - - - Kellum, 117 - - King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 552 - - Kingston-on-Thames, 115; - free chapel there, 125 - - Kirkby Malamdale, 102 - - - Laindon church and house, 162 - - Lanfranc, 88, 136 - - Lateran, council of, in A.D. 1179, 98 - - Latimer, Hugh, his education, 141 - - Laws, Saxon codes of, 39, 57-83 - - "Lay Folks' Mass-book," 243-249 - - Learning, revival of, 136 - - Lepers, 286, 294, 343 - - Lewinna, South Saxon martyr, 17 - - Lights for altar, 312; - statues, 313, 498; - purification, 314, 425; - funeral, 315; - meaning of, 312, 315. - _See_ Tapers - - Lincoln Cathedral, 338, 340; - organization of its chapter, 343 - - Lindisfarne, 20, 29, 35 - - London Bridge, 529 - - London, parishes of, 492; - subdivision of, 495; - number of, 495; - fees in, 496; - map of, in 1570, 493 - - Longland, John, Bishop of Lincoln, 344 - - Lord's Prayer, metrical version of, 248 - - - Magdalen College, Oxford, 554 - - Manchester, parochial history of, 515 - - Manumission of slaves, 81, 82, 332, 333 - - Market Harborough Church, 186 - - Married clergy, 262 - - Mass, 200, 236, 237, 243-248 - - Matins, 200, 202, 204 - - Mediety, benefices held in, 56 - - "Minster," 37 - - Miracle plays, 315 - - Mission work among the Anglo-Saxons, 21, 24 - - Monasteries, Saxon, 28-37; - revival of, under Edgar and Canute, 37; - Norman, 90-93; - character, 366; - social influence, 367; - parochial influence, 369 - - Money, comparative value of, in 1292, 1534, and 1890, 404 - - Monks, 73, 97, 98, 108, 285 - - Mortuary services, 457-462 - - Morville, 114 - - Myrk John, "Instructions for Parish Priests," 232 - - "Myrroure of our Ladye," 249 - - - Newark, 523 - - Newnham, Gloucestershire, 119 - - Non-residence, 146, 326, 330 - - Norman bishops, abbots, priests, costume of, 83, 91 - - Norman conquest, results of, 84 - - Normans, church building by the, 87, 88 - - Northumberland, Earl of, staff of domestic chapel, 413 - - Norway, anecdotes of its conversion, 17-19; - introduction of Christianity into, 18, 19 - - Norwich, parishes of, 490 - - - Oils for baptism and unction, 72, 75 - - Offering days, 71, 73 - - Offerings as source of income, 400 - - Offertory, 245; - of the domestic chapels, 414, 426 - - Opinions during the Middle Ages, 546 - - Orarium, or stole, 192 - - Ordeal, 66 - - Ordericus Vitalis, 90, 115 - - Orders of the clergy, 74 - - Ordination, 144-146; - refusal of, 327, 328 - - - Pallium, 191 - - Papal supremacy, 85 - - Parish clerk, 67, 283, 298-305 - - Parishes, origin of, 44-46; - extent of, 50, 110; - subdivision of, 51, 53; - number of, in A.D. 1292 and A.D. 1534, 385, 394; - income of, 389, 396, 397-406 - - Parish priest, his ecclesiastical status, 50; - social status, 51, 73; - instructions for, 232-240 - - Parsonage houses, 148-158, at Weston Turville, West Dean, Alfriston, - Kelvedon, Kingston-on-Thames, Bulmer, Ingrave, Ingatestone, - Allington, Little Bromley, North Benfleet, Great Bentley, St. - Peter's Colchester, Radwinter, Laindon; and 161 - - Passion play, 304, 315 - - Patronage, abuse of, by the Crown, 321 - - Paulinus of York, 17, 21 - - Peckham, Archbishop, his manual of teaching, 216 - - Penance, 201; - by proxy, 64; - forbidden, 64; - for sabbath-breaking, 201 - - Penitential system, Saxon, 532 - - Peter Lombard, 137 - - Pickering, 117 - - "Piers Plowman," Vision and Creed, extracts from, 132, 133, 150, 171, - 203, 207, 278 - - Pilgrimage, 308; - places of, 309 - - Pilgrims, 309 - - Pledge breaking, punishment of, 65. - - Pluralities, 323 - - Pocklington, 117 - - Poetry, devotional, 255-257 - - "Poor Parson of a Town," Chaucer's, 550 - - Preaching, 62, 71, 75, 214-223, 285-288; - helps in, 223, 224 - - Prebend, 351; - of Lincoln Cathedral, 353 - - Prebendaries of Lincoln, 351; - of Chichester, 361 - - Presentation of offenders to the bishop, 62, 67 - - Priests, character of, 68, 71, 73, 233; - duties of, 69, 72, 233-240 - - Primer, 249 - - Prince bishops of Durham, 363; - of Winchester, 364; - of Ely, 364 - - Privilege of clergy, 86 - - Procession, or Litany, 212, 311 - - Processions to mother church, 121; - to cathedral, 121, 299 - - Puch the Ealdorman, consecration of his church at South Burton, 46 - - - Recluse, 295, 527 - - Rectors not in holy orders, 325, 327, 328 - - Revenues of the bishops, deans, and chapters, etc., of Lincoln - Cathedral, 344; - of Chichester Cathedral, 360 - - Robert Pullein, 138 - - Roger Bacon, 139 - - Rotherham, parochial history of, 516; - College, 517 - - Roundelay, 118 - - Royal chapels, 46, 123 - - Ruthwell, cross at, 25 - - - Saffron Walden Church, 185 - - Saints, canonization by local synods, 63, 81 - - Saints' Days, 80; - appointed by synods, 63, 81 - - St. Alban's, monastery and town of, 513 - - St. Edmund's Bury, monastery and town of, 510 - - Sanctuary, 75, 306; - right of, in churches, 75, 306; - in churchyards, 308; - in certain persons, 308 - - Saxon clergy, 21, 23, 38, 57-83; - vestments of, 62, 83 - - Saxon codes of law, 39, 57 - - Saxon nobleman, house of, 47 - - Scholastic theology, 137 - - "Sentences" of Peter Lombard, 137 - - Serfs admitted to Orders, 130 - - Sermon helps, 223 - - Sermons, 215 - - Service books and vestments which each church was required to possess, - 67, 189, 195 - - Services in church, 200; - attendance at, on Sundays, 79, 201, 203; - on week-days, 205-207 - - "Services," 479 - - Sham priests, 143, 144 - - Shawbury, 112 - - Shoreham Church, 89 - - Shrine of Edward Confessor, 187 - - Sick, visitation of, 161, 237, 239 - - Sins, eight deadly, 214; - seven deadly, 221, 226, 230 - - Slavery, 72, 81-83, 332 - - Slave-trade, 82, 83 - - Sompting Church, 55 - - Sons of clergy, 262, 273-278 - - Sponsors, at Confirmation, 55, 69, 234; - at Baptism, 234 - - Stigand, Archbishop, 84, 86 - - Stokesay, 119 - - Stratford, John de, Archbishop, injunction on costume of clergy, 164, 188 - - Students, 140-144 - - "Summa Theologica" of Thomas Aquinas, 138 - - Sunday, observance of, 69, 73, 79, 205; - penalty for desecration of, 201, _note_ - - Surnames of ecclesiastics taken from their birthplaces, 135 - - Surplice, 193, 194 - - Synodals, annual sum due from incumbent of a benefice to the bishop, 397; - paid on attending the synod to procure the holy oils. - - Synods, 41, 67, 337 - - - Tapers carried at baptism (Harl. MS. 2278, f. 76); - at marriage, 496; - churching, 496; - penance, 315; - funerals, 496 - - "Taxatio" of Pope Nicholas IV., 381 - - Teaching by priests, 63, 214, 216-223; - by parents, 69 - - Temples, Anglo-Saxon, 9-11; - Norse, 18, 19 - - Ten Commandments, exposition of, 218; - metrical version of, 239 - - Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 40; - holds a synod at Hertford A.D. 673, at which the Heptarchic Churches - unite into the Church of England, 41; - divides the Heptarchic dioceses, 41; - encourages the parochial system, 45 - - Thirteenth century, character of, 548 - - Thomas Aquinas, 138 - - Thoresby, Archbishop of York, his manual of teaching, 222 - - Thornbury, staff of domestic chapel, 413 - - Tithe, 78; - small, 99, 101 - - Titles for Orders, 145 - - Tower of London, domestic chapel, 409 - - Town parishes, origin of, 489 - - Towns, description of, 487; - founded by monasteries, 507; - Burton-on-Trent, 508; - St. Edmund's Bury, 510; - St. Albans, 513 - - Township, Saxon, description of, 4, 5 - - Twelfth century, religious character of, 547 - - Types and antitypes, 231 - - - Unction, Extreme, 237, 239 - - Universities, 136, 140 - - - "Valor" of Henry VIII., 392 - - Vestments, clerical, 62, 98, 165, 191, 194, 195, 198, 199, 244, 299; - origin of, 191; - symbolism of, 196 - - Vicar, 99-107 - - Vicarages, foundation of, 98-108 - - Vicars choral, 341; - of Lincoln, 355; - of Chichester, 362 - - Virtues, the seven chief, 221, 229 - - Visitation of the sick, 162, 237, 239, 282 - - Visitation, the bishop's, 279, 337; - articles, 281, and replies, 285-289; - by the archdeacon, 338 - - - Wakefield bridge and chapel, 528 - - Wapentake, 5 - - Warham, William, 564, 565, _note_ - - Warwick Chantry Chapel, Tewkesbury, 454 - - Weapons carried by clergy, 167, 183 - - West Dean parsonage house, 151 - - Westminster, synod of, A.D. 1102, 98, 113 - - Whalley, 107, 108, 120; - history of the parish of, 557 - - Wiclif's Bible, 242 - - Wihtred, King of Kent, laws of, 57, 59, 77, 81 - - Wilfrid of York, apostle of the South Saxons, 40, 41, 42 - - Wills of clergymen, 171-183 - - Winchester, synod of, A.D. 1070, 86 - - Windsor, domestic chapels, 412 - - Winfrid (Boniface), 22, 60 - - Wingham, college of, 564, _note_ - - Woolrichston, 131 - - Wye, college of, 566, _note_ - - - Yatton, 106 - - Yellow pest, seventh century, 39 - - York, Minster, 503, 504; - St. Mary's Abbey, 503; - hospitals in, 504; - parish churches, 505; - of clergy, 505; - income of parochial benefices in, 506; - Micklegate Bar, 487 - - - Zacharias, Bishop of Rome, 61 - - -THE END. - - -PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] We gather from FitzHerbert "On Surveyinge," chap. xl. (1470 to 1538, -A.D.) that this condition of things continued general to the end of the -sixteenth century. - -[2] Grimm, Stallybras's ed., i. 90. - -[3] Thorpe, "Ancient Laws," etc., 201. - -[4] "Burnt Njal." - -[5] We know very little of the religion of these Teutonic tribes before -their conversion, or of its usages. Mr. Kemble had "no hesitation in -asserting" that their religion was the same as that of the Scandinavians; -he thought that the Mark and system of land occupation which had existed -long before in their native seats was introduced in its entirety into -their new settlements, and that every Mark had its _fanum_, _delubrum_ or -_sacellum_; and, further, that the priests attached to these heathen -churches had lands--perhaps freewill offerings, too--for their support. -Under these circumstances, he argues that nothing could be more natural -than the establishment of a baptismal church in every Mark which adopted -Christianity and the transference of the old endowments to the new -priesthood ("The Saxons in England," ii. 423). - -[6] See a list of them at p. 63. - -[7] 27th of the Council of London, 1102 A.D. - -[8] Coifi asked, _Quis aras et fana idolorum cum septis quibus erant -circumdata primus profanare debet ... pergebat ad idola ... mox -appropinquabat ad fanum...._ In King Alfred's Anglo-Saxon version of Bede, -_aras_ is represented by wigbed, _fana_ by heargas, _idolorum_ by -deofolgild, a _septis_ in one place by hegum (hedges), and in the other by -getymbro. Getymbro may mean a construction of any material, but probably -here of timber ("Eccl. Hist.," ii. c. 13). - -[9] There is another notice of the existence of temples among the East -Saxons, in the narrative of Bishop Jaruman's work of reclaiming the half -of those people under the rule of the sub-king Sighere, when they had -relapsed to their old superstitions as the result of the great plague of -664 A.D. Bede says that the people "began to restore the temples that had -been abandoned, and to adore idols"; but Jaruman "restored them to the way -of righteousness; so that, either forsaking or destroying the temples and -altars which they had erected, they reopened the churches." At first -sight, the narrative gives the idea of a number of temples, and a number -of churches scattered over the country; but, on consideration, we call to -mind that the East Saxons had been converted by Cedd only ten or twelve -years before (653), and that we do not read of his building more than two -churches, one at Tilbury on the Thames, the other at Bradwell, at the -mouth of the Blackwater, which was probably outside the district in -question; and the temples spoken of may not have been more numerous than -the churches mentioned in the same vague terms; or Bede may have had in -mind the open-air places of worship of the old religion and the prayer -stations at which the Christian missionaries used to assemble their -converts ("Eccl. Hist.," iii. c. 30). - -[10] Professor Skeat, in letters to the present writer. - -[11] Anglo-Saxon nom. _hearh_; dat. _hearge_; pl. nom. _heargas_. Many -English words are formed on "dative" types. - -[12] In Icelandic, _hrgr_ = "a heathen place of worship, an altar of -stone erected on a high place, or a sacrificial cairn built in the open -air, and without images." - -[13] Whitaker's "Craven," p. 500. - -[14] Saint Lewinna is said to have suffered _martyrdom_ for her faith at -the hands of the heathen South Saxon, during the time of Archbishop -Theodore. "Acta Sanct.," July 24, p. 608, and "Sussex Archeol. Coll.," -vol. i. p. 45. - -[15] Some stories of the introduction of Christianity among others of the -rude northern peoples are well worth giving as an illustration, in -likenesses, and in contrasts, of our own story, and especially because -they give a quantity of details which will supply the paucity of such -details in our own histories. They are later in time, but they belong to a -similar phase of manners. - -When Harold Klak, King of Jutland, who had received baptism on a visit to -the Court of Louis le Debonaire (A.D. 820), returned home and destroyed -the native shrines, proscribed the sacrifices, and abolished the -priesthood, his people resented it, and drove him into exile. - -Hacon of Norway had been baptized at the Court of our King Athelstan. At -first he sent for a bishop and priests from England; a few of his intimate -companions received baptism, and two or three churches were built in the -district more immediately subject to him. Then at the Froste Thing, the -winter assembly of the whole people, the king proposed to them to accept -baptism. One of the bonders replied, in the name of his fellow-chiefs, -"The ancient faith which our fathers and forefathers held from the oldest -times, though we are not so brave men as our ancestors, has served us to -the present time. If you intend to take the matter up with a high hand, -and try to force us, we bonders," he said, "have resolved among ourselves -to part with you, and take some other chief, under whom we may freely and -safely enjoy the faith which suits our inclinations." The following winter -four of the bonders bound themselves by oath to force the king to -sacrifice to the gods, and to root out Christianity from Norway. The -churches were burnt, and the priests stoned, and when the king came to the -Yule Thing, he consented to taste the horseflesh of the sacrifice, and -drink to the gods. - -When Olaf Tryggveson gained the throne of Norway, having been baptized in -England, he began by destroying the temples in his own territory, and -declared that he would make all Norway Christian or die. The crisis came -at the Midsummer Althing, held at Mre, where was an ancient temple; and -thither all the great chiefs and bonders, and the whole strength of the -heathen party, assembled. At a preliminary meeting of the bonders, Olaf -proposed to them to adopt the Christian religion; they demanded, on the -other hand, that he should offer sacrifice to the gods. He consented to go -with them to the temple, and entered it with a great number of his own -adherents; and when the sacrifice began the king suddenly struck down the -image of Thor with his gold inlaid axe so that it rolled down at his feet; -at this signal his men struck down the rest of the images from their -seats, and then came forth and again demanded that the people should -abandon their belief in gods who were so powerless. The people -surrendered, and "took baptism." Subsequently, Olaf Haraldson (1015), -learning that the old sacrifices were still secretly offered at Mre, and -other places, surprised a party at Mre, who were engaged in the forbidden -worship, put their leader to death, and confiscated the property of the -rest. Then Olaf went to the uplands, and summoned a Thing. Gudbrand, a -powerful chief of the district, sent a message-token summoning the -peasants far and wide to come to the Thing, and resist the king's demand -to abandon their ancient faith. Gudbrand had a temple on his own land, in -which was an image of Thor, made up of wood, of great size, hollow within, -covered without with ornaments of gold and silver. At the first meeting, -Sigurd the Bishop, arrayed in his robes, with his mitre on his head, and -his staff in his hand, preached to the assembly about the true faith and -the wonderful works of God. When he had finished, one of the bonders said: -"Many things are told us by this horned man, with a staff in his hand, -crooked at the top like a ram's horn; since your God, you say, is so -powerful, tell him to make it clear sunshine to-morrow, and we will meet -you here again, and do one of two things--either agree with you about this -matter, or fight you." Accordingly, on the morrow, before sunrise, the -assembly came together again to the Thing-field, Olaf and his followers on -one side, and Gudbrand and his men bringing with them into the field the -great image of Thor, glittering with gold and silver, to which the heathen -party did obeisance. Olaf had given instructions beforehand to one of his -chiefs, Kolbein the Strong, who usually carried besides his sword a great -club. "Dale Gudbrand," said the king, "thinks to frighten us with his god, -who cannot even move without being carried. You say that our God is -invisible, turn your eyes to the east, and behold his splendour," (for the -sun was just rising above the horizon). And when they all turned to look, -Kolbein the Strong acted upon his instructions; he struck the idol with -his war-club with such force that it broke in pieces, and a number of mice -ran out of it among the crowd. Olaf taunted them with the helplessness of -such a god; and Gudbrand admitted the force of the argument. "Our god will -not help us, so we will believe on the God thou believest in." He and all -present were baptized, and received the teachers whom King Olaf and Bishop -Sigurd set over them, and Gudbrand himself built a church in the valley. - -There was a great temple at Upsala, with idols of Thor, Woden, and Frigga, -which was afterwards converted into a church (see Snorre Sturlusun's -"Heimskringla," translated by S. Lang, with notes by R. B. Anderson, vol. -i. pp. 103-105, 110, and vol. iv. p. 40). - -Temples and sacrifices seem to imply the existence of priests; but it is -remarkable that, in the collisions between Hakon and the Olafs and the -heathenism of Norway, there is no mention of a single priest. - -[16] Bede, "Eccles. Hist.," ii. 14. - -[17] Ibid., ii. 16. - -[18] Bede, iii. 3. - -[19] Ibid., iii. 5. - -[20] Ibid., iii. 14. - -[21] Ibid., v. 6. There are other indications that travellers sometimes -took tents on their journeys through the thinly inhabited country. - -[22] Pertz, ii. 334. - -[23] Bede, iii. 26. - -[24] Bede, iv. 27. - -[25] In the life of St. Willibald, we read that "it was the ancient custom -of the Saxon nation, on the estates of some of their nobles and great men, -to erect not a church, but the sign of the Holy Cross, dedicated to God, -beautifully and honourably adorned, and exalted on high for the common use -of daily prayer" (Acta SS. Ord. Benedict, sect. iii., part 2). So it was a -custom with "St. Kentigern to erect a cross in any place where he had -converted the people, and where he had been staying for a time" ("Vita -Kentigerni," by Joscelin, the Monk of Furness). Adalbert, a Gallic bishop, -in the time of St. Boniface, preached in fields and at wells, and set up -little crosses and oratories in various places. - -[26] The church at Bradfield-on-Avon, recently discovered, unaltered and -uninjured, was probably the church of one of these monasteries. - -[27] Of the early monasteries of the East Saxons, the East Anglians, the -South Saxons, and of the Dioceses of Rochester and Hereford, little is -known. - -[28] "Historical Church Atlas," E. McClure. - -[29] Secular monasteries are alluded to in the fifth canon of Clovesho -(A.D. 747), and eighth canon of Calchythe (816). A canon of Clovesho (803) -forbad laymen to be abbots. - -[30] Bishop of Oxford, "Const. Hist.," i. 251. - -[31] The Bishop of Oxford, however, says, "Occasional traces of -Ecclesiastical assemblies of single kingdoms occur, but they are scarcely -distinguishable from the separate Witenagemots" ("Const. Hist.," i. 264). - -[32] The 123rd of the novels. - -[33] Labbe and Cossart Councils, 9. 119. - -[34] Letters of Gregory the Great, lib. xii. ep. xi. (Migne 77, p. 1226). - -[35] Another capitulary, dated 832, ordained that if there were an -unendowed church it should be endowed with a manse and two villani by the -freemen who frequented it, and if they refuse it shall be pulled down. - -[36] When Willibrord, a Northumbrian educated at Ripon, was evangelizing -Frankish Frisia, 692, etc., Alcuin records that he founded not only -monasteries but encouraged the foundation of parish churches. Alcuin, -"Opera II.," tom. 101, p. 834. Migne. - -[37] Bede, iii. 17. - -[38] Ibid., v. 4, 5. - -[39] At the same time, to encourage commerce, a merchant who had made -three voyages in his own ship was entitled to the rank of Thane. - -[40] The Bishop of Oxford and earlier authorities are of opinion that the -"burg geat settl" means the right of jurisdiction over tenants. Sharon -Turner conjectures that the place in the king's hall means a seat in the -Witenagemot. - -[41] Thorpe, "Ancient Laws," i. 367. - -[42] S.P.C.K., "Roch. Dioc. Hist.," p. 25. - -[43] Ellis's "Introduction to Domesday Book." - -[44] Parishes with two rectors continued not infrequently throughout the -Middle Ages; there are some even to the present day. The way in which the -parochial duties were divided is indicated by two examples given in -Whitaker's "Craven" (p. 504). Linton has two rectors, who take the service -in alternate weeks; they have their stalls on either side of the choir, -and parsonage houses nearly adjoining one another. So at Bonsal each -rector has his own stall and pulpit. - -Sometimes each mediety had its own church. The churches of Willingale -Spain and Willingale Doe, in Essex, are in the same churchyard. At -Pakefield, Suffolk, there is a double church, each with its choir and nave -and altar, divided only by an open arcade. - -[45] Bt = compensation. - -[46] This is the earliest notice (in England at least) of the ancient -custom of having a confirmation god-parent, different from the baptismal -sponsors. There are other notices of it in the canons of Edgar (see p. 69) -and the twenty-second of the laws of Canute; and in many canons of English -Medival Diocesan Councils. Queen Elizabeth and Edward VI. were each -baptized and confirmed at the same time, and, according to primitive -custom, each had three baptismal sponsors and one confirmation god-parent. -It is still enjoined by the third rubric at the end of the Church -Catechism and by the twenty-ninth of the canons of 1603. - -[47] _i.e._ be scourged. - -[48] So it is usually stated, but the date and place of the council are -very questionable. - -[49] Zachary's letters to the English inhabitants of Britain were in Latin -and English. The documents are not on record, but we are told that they -were read at the Council; in them he "familiariter admonebat et veraciter -conveniebat et postremo amabiliter exorabat," and to those who despise -these modes of address he "anathematis sententiam procul dubio properandam -insinuabat." - -[50] This prayer is as follows: "O Lord, we beseech Thee, of Thy great -mercy, grant that the soul of (such a person) may be secured in a state of -peace and repose, and that he may be admitted with the rest of Thy saints -into the region of light and happiness." - -[51] Among the "Canons of Edgar," the following occurs:--"A powerful man -may satisfy a sentence of seven years' fasting in three days. Let him lay -aside his weapons and ornaments, and go barefoot and live hard, etc., and -take to him twelve men to fast three days on bread, water, and green -herbs, and get wherever he can 7 times 120 men, who shall fast for him -three days, then will be fasted as many fasts as there are days in seven -years." - -[52] Thorpe, i. 227. - -[53] It is not known by whose authority the ecclesiastical regulations -which are entitled the canons of Edgar were drawn up, but they appear to -be of this date. - -[54] That it might be seen that they were complete and in good order, just -as the laity came to the Hundred mote or Wapentake with their weapons. For -list of them see lfric's Pastoral, 44. - -[55] To keep a copy of the constitutions made at the synod. - -[56] The time was subsequently shortened to seven days. - -[57] Probably spots of ground accounted sacred. - -[58] In the "vulgar tongue." - -[59] The priests had a small consecrated slab of stone which they used on -missionary journeys and at other times. - -[60] The Legatine Council of Cealchythe (787, 5 c.) explains this by -saying he must not celebrate with naked thighs. (See Exodus xxviii. 42.) - -[61] For hours of service see Thorpe, "Ancient Laws," etc., ii. 359. - -[62] By laws of Alfred and Guthrum, if a priest misdirect people about a -festival or fast he shall pay 30_s._ - -[63] Meaning obscure. - -[64] The chief distinction between nuns and mynchens appears to have -consisted in the superior age and strictness of life of the former -(Thorpe, "Ancient Laws"). - -[65] The laws of Canute say 1/2_d._ worth of wax for every hide on Easter -Eve, All Saints, and Purification. - -[66] Allusions to the Danish incursions. - -[67] Fifth law of Ine. - -[68] Law 16. - -[69] Law 17. - -[70] Mr. Kemble, as we have seen, is of opinion that the people in those -days of heathendom had a temple in every township, and that the priesthood -were endowed with lands as well as offerings, but we do not find -sufficient evidence of this. - -[71] The monks of Jumieges, in the seventh century, fitted out vessels and -sailed great distances to redeem slaves. St. Eligius spent large sums in -redeeming them--20, 50, 100 at a time. Christian missionaries bought -slaves, and trained them as Christians. - -[72] "Diplomatarium Anglicanum." - -[73] "Collier," i. 241. The Cathedral Churches of the Continent were -universally served by Canons. - -[74] Bishop of Oxford's "Select Charters," p. 73. - -[75] Robert d'Oyley, a powerful Norman noble, repaired the ruinous -parochial churches in and out of Oxford in the reign of William I. -(Brewer, "Endowment, etc., of the Church of England," p. 74). Corsuen -built a number of houses and two churches on a piece of land granted to -him in the suburb of Lincoln. (? St. Mary le Wigford, and St. Peter at -Gowts.) - -[76] Eyton's "Shropshire" mentions several cases in that county. - -[77] Bohn's edition of "Eccl. Hist, of Ordericus Vitalis," i. 10. - -[78] Nearly all the village churches of the Craven district of Yorkshire -were built in the time of Henry I., and many of them enlarged in the time -of Henry VIII. (Whitaker's "Craven"). - -[79] Orderic, iv. xxiv. - -[80] It was stopped by Innocent III. in a decretal letter to the -Archbishop of Canterbury, c. 1200. - -[81] See Sir H. Ellis's "Introduction to Domesday," i. 324, 325. - -[82] The Church of Gisburn, Yorkshire, was given to the Nunnery of -Stainfield, Lincolnshire, by a Percy. For fifty years the nuns simply -presented to the rectory like any other patron; then in 1226 Archbishop -Walter Gray assigned them _ad proprios usus_, half a carucate of the glebe -land, and the tithe of corn in various places named, but without endowing -a vicarage, and the convent presented six more rectors under those -conditions; it was not until 1341 that a vicarage was ordained. -(Whitaker's "Craven," p. 45). - -[83] This Council also forbade a vicar to hold more than one parish. - -[84] Where the religious house was situated in or near the parish church, -special arrangements were not infrequently made. At Tortington, near -Arundel, Sussex, was a small house of Austin canons which existed before -the time of King John. The vicar of the parish had a corrody in the house, -consisting of a right to board and lodging for himself and a serving boy. -At Sybeton, Suffolk, the vicar and curate had their lodging and food in -the religious house ("Valor," iii. 442). At Taunton, in 1308, the Priory -supplied the vicar with allowances of bread and ale, and hay and corn, and -two shillings a year for the shoeing of his horse ("Bath and Wells," p. -121, S.P.C.K.). See also Lenton, p. 404. - -[85] One of the constitutions of Archbishop Stratford (1333) requires -religious appropriators of churches to give a benefaction to the poor -yearly, according to the judgment of the bishop, on pain of sequestration. - -[86] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 310. Upon making an appropriation an -annual pension was usually reserved to the bishop and his successors, -payable by the body benefited, for a recompense of the profits which the -bishops would otherwise have received (Sir R. Phillimore, "Ecclesiastical -Law"). - -[87] _i.e._, which had obtained from the Court of Rome exemption from the -Bishop's ordinary jurisdiction. - -[88] According to Matthew Paris, "the bishops of England at that time -designed to recover from the monasteries all the appropriated churches. -Grostete of Lincoln took steps to carry out the design in his diocese, but -the monks appealed to Rome and defeated the bishop" (Matthew Paris, Bohn's -ed., ii. pp. 325, 326, 401, 420). - -[89] Gray's "Register," p. 113. Surtees Society. - -[90] Ibid., p. 112. - -[91] Gray's "Register," p. 113. Surtees Society. - -[92] Extracts from Lincoln Registers. Harl. MS. 6950, p. 1250. - -[93] Bronscombe's "Register," p. 253. - -[94] Ibid., p. 330. - -[95] Ibid., p. 334. - -[96] "Bath and Wells," p. 122, S.P.C.K. - -[97] Long Preston, in Craven, is mentioned in "Domesday." In the reign of -Stephen it was granted by Wm. de Amundeville to the church and canons of -Embsay. In 1303, Archbishop Corbridge ordained that the church should be -served by a fit vicar and his ministers. In 1307 there was another -"taxation," a third in 1322, and a fourth in 1455 (Whitaker, "Craven," p. -145). - -[98] In the Episcopal Register of Lincoln, under date 25th April, 1511, -William, Abbot of Oseney, was admitted to the Vicarage of St. Mary -Magdalen, Oxford, on the presentation of the Abbot and Convent of the -same. - -[99] "Lichfield," p. 138, S.P.C.K. - -[100] It was this which made a rectory so much like a small monastery in -its constitution, that rectories were often called minsters, and -monasteries often merged into rectories. - -[101] Hopesay and Hopton, originally probably chapels parochial of Clun, -were of the nature of free chapels, _i.e._ not at the disposal of the -baroness or of the rector, but only of the lord of the fee (Eyton's -"Shropshire," ix. 258). - -[102] Eyton's "Shropshire," viii. 149. - -[103] The two chapels of Rilston and Coniston--(Coniston chapel is very -early Norman, or still earlier, with triangular windows)--in the parish of -Burnsal, co. York, as late as the beginning of this century had had no -chaplains or separate endowment, but were still served in the primitive -mode by the Rector of Burnsal; both have cylindrical fonts of high -antiquity, and therefore must always have had the sacramentalia. Chapels -with these rights were always presentable, and served by chaplains who -took an oath of obedience to the rector, and were not removable at -pleasure; whereas mere chapels-of-ease were served by stipendiaries -removable, or by the parish priest himself (Whitaker's "Craven," p. 528). - -[104] The probable explanation is that the lord of the ville of Billingley -had made some arrangement with the mother church for the payment of half -his tithe to his own chapel; the small payments from the other chapels -were acknowledgments of subjection. - -[105] The original deed is in possession of Mr. G. Morris, of Shrewsbury. -"Know all men, both now and hereafter, on the day of the dedication of the -cemetery of Eston that I, Robert, son of Aher, gave to God and to the -chapel of the same vill of Eston one virgate of land, containing sixty -acres, and all tithe of my demesne of the same vill, and one mansion, for -the health of my soul and of all my predecessors and successors. And that -my gift may be free and quit of all reclaim by me or my heirs and may ever -remain firm and stable I have fortified it with this present writing, and -with the impression of my seal.--There being witnesses Robert, Bishop of -Hereford, Reinald, Prior of Wenlock, Peter the archdeacon, and many -others" (Eyton's "Shropshire," i. p. 207). - -[106] See p. 90. - -[107] There were more monasteries founded in the reign of Stephen than in -any other period of similar duration. - -[108] A. Heales, "History of Kingston-upon-Thames." - -[109] Archbishop Gray's "Register," p. 168. - -[110] Ibid., p. 211. - -[111] Archbishop Gray's "Register," p. 45. - -[112] Ibid. - -[113] Eyton's "Shropshire," v. 28. - -[114] Whitaker's "History of Whalley," p. 223. - -[115] Whitaker's "History of Whalley," pp. 223-225. - -[116] The great Law-book of the Medival Church. - -[117] The king is supposed to visit his own chapels and hospitals by the -Lord High Chancellor. - -[118] Sir R. Phillimore. - -[119] In the college at Tonge, any one of the five chaplains bringing a -guest to dinner was to pay for him 3_d._ if at the high table, and 1/4_d._ -if at the low (S.P.C.K., "Lichfield," p. 161). - -[120] A. Heales, "History of the Free Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen, -Kingston-on-Thames." - -[121] Pages 20 and 82. - -[122] Page 68. - -[123] When Winfrid, afterwards St. Boniface, showed a strong precocious -vocation for the religious life, his father, who seems to have been the -principal person of his town, forthwith sent him--at six or seven years of -age--to a religious house at Exeter, to be educated for the Church. - -[124] Men who had any serious personal blemish, or any defect in respect -to birth, learning, or morals, were excluded by canon from ordination -(Constitutions of Otho, 1237). Illegitimacy and servile origin were both -defects of birth. - -[125] Thorold Rogers, "Agriculture and Prices in England," vol. ii. pp. -613, 615, 616. - -[126] "Eccl. Proceedings of Courts of Durham," Surtees Society, p. 5. - -[127] John Knox said, "Every scholar is something added to the riches of -the Commonwealth." - -[128] See the quotation in its entirety on p. 278. - -[129] Cobbler. - -[130] "The Babees Book," Early English Text Society, p. 401. - -Of Archbishops of Canterbury, the parentage of William of Corbeuil is not -known; the inference is that it was humble. Thomas Becket was the son of a -London citizen; Richard, of humble parents; Baldwin, of humble parents at -Exeter; Richard Grant, parentage unknown; Edmund Rich, son of a merchant -at Abingdon; Richard Kilwardby, a Dominican friar of unknown parentage; -Robert Winchelsey, probably of humble birth; Walter Reynolds, the son of a -baker at Windsor; Chichele, a shepherd-boy, picked up and educated by -William of Wykham; Cranmer's people were small squires in Notts. And so in -other sees. Ralph Flambard, Bishop of Durham, the great Justiciar of Henry -I., was the son of a poor Norman priest; Thomas of Rotherham, Archbishop -of York, was of obscure parentage; Richard of Wych, the saintly Bishop of -Chichester, was the son of a decayed farmer at Droitwich, and for several -years worked on the land like a labourer; the famous Grostete was of a -poor family at Stradbroke, Suffolk; Thomas of Beckington, Bishop of Bath -and Wells, is said to have been the son of a weaver; John of Sheppey was -taken up and educated by Hamo, Bishop of Rochester, and succeeded his -benefactor in the see. - -[131] By 9 Ed. II. c. 8, clerks in the king's service were declared not -bound to residence on their benefice. - -[132] The custom might sometimes be misleading. Thus, a priest in the -diocese of Bath and Wells with the high-sounding name of Richard de Burgh, -was a villein of the bishop who had given him freedom and holy orders. - -[133] See notice of the college founded by Archbishop Thomas of Rotherham, -p. 517. - -[134] The universal ignorance of the Greek language at that time made the -great works of the Eastern Church a sealed book to the scholars of the -West. - -[135] At the Council of Trent, nearly three hundred years after his death, -the "Summa" was placed on the secretary's desk beside the Holy Scriptures, -as containing the orthodox solution of all theological questions. - -[136] Wesley published an edition of it. - -[137] Peter Lombard's "Text-book." - -[138] "Norfolk Archology," vol. iv. p. 342. - -[139] "Lincoln," p. 194. S.P.C.K. - -[140] "The York Pontifical," p. 370. Surtees Society. - -[141] In the Diocese of York, in 1344-5, there were ordained-- - - Acolytes 421 - Sub-deacons 204, of whom 71 were regulars. - Deacons 326 " 96 " - Priests 271 " 44 " - ---- -- - 1222 211 - -In 1510-11, there were-- - - Acolytes 298, of whom 17 were regulars. - Sub-deacons 296 " 51 " - Deacons 248 " 41 " - Priests 265 " 173 " - ---- --- - 1107 282 - -In the first year of the episcopate of Bishop Stapledon of Exeter, viz. -from December 21, 1308, to September 20, 1309, there were ordained 539 to -the first tonsure, 438 acolytes, 104 sub-deacons, 177 deacons, 169 -priests. - -In the year from March 22, 1314, to December 20, 1315, there were ordained -75 to the first tonsure, 71 acolytes, 44 sub-deacons, 50 deacons, 66 -priests. - -[142] "In 1281 the Pope dispensed an acolyte, whose left little finger had -been shortened while a child by an unskilful surgeon, to hold a benefice -notwithstanding the defect" ("Calendar of Papal Registers," 1491). "Jacob -Lowe and Sampson Meverall, base born, and Godfrey Ely, blind of one eye, -were dispensed by the Pope for ordination" ("Register of Smyth, Bishop of -Lichfield," p. 175). - -[143] "Lichfield," p. 129. S.P.C.K. See additional examples in the chapter -on Abuses. - -[144] - - Now hath each rich a rule - To eaten by themselve, - In a privy parlour - For poor man sake, - Or in a chamber with a chimney; - And leave the chief hall, - That was made for meals - Men to eaten in. - The "Vision of Piers Ploughman." - -[145] Of which there is a description and drawing in the Records of the -Archological Society of that county, vol. ii. p. 251. - -[146] In those days the rooms of a house were not massed compactly -together under one roof; the hall was the primitive house, and additions -to it were effected by annexing distinct buildings, each of which was -called a house. - -[147] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. p. 350. - -[148] "Transactions of the Essex Archological Society," vol. ii. part ii. -(New Series), p. 141. - -[149] Alfred Heales, "Kingston-on-Thames," p. 17. - -[150] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. p. 103. - -[151] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 281. - -[152] Ibid., ii. 284. - -[153] "Hist. of England," i. p. 41. - -[154] A lawsuit gives us a glimpse of John of Bishopstone, the rector of -Cliffe, at Hoo, going to church on the Sunday before Christmas, 1363, -accompanied by his chaplains, clerks, and household, as if they all lived -together (S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 188). - -[155] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 97. - -[156] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 46. - -[157] Ibid., ii. 309. - -[158] A statute of 3 Ed. I., A.D. 1275, says, "Abbeys have been -overcharged by the resort of great men and others; none shall come to eat -or lodge in any house of religion of any others' foundation than his own; -this does not intend that the grace of hospitality be withdrawn from such -as need." - -[159] See Matthew Paris under 1240 A.D., "to receive guests, rich and -poor, and show hospitality to laity and clergy according to their means, -as the custom of the place requires." - -[160] In the returns of a survey of the estates of the Dean and Chapter of -Exeter in 1300 both the manor houses and the rectory houses are included, -and their similarity is evident: "Culmstock Manor. There is a hall in the -Manor, and a soler within the hall and a chamber, a kitchen without -_furnum and turella_ (stove and small turret for smoke and ventilation), -and a dove house; there wants a granary. Utpottery. There is in the -farmhouse a sufficient hall and chamber, a new grange, and other -sufficient houses, 1330. Vicar of Colyton, Richard Brondiche, is a leper. -Colyton _Domus Sanctuarii_ (house in the churchyard). There is there a -competent hall with a chamber and chimney, a competent kitchen, without -_turella_, however; two granges; the other houses are sufficient; the -gardens are eaten up with age and badly kept. Branscombe Manor. There is a -hall with two chambers and garderobes good and sufficient; a new kitchen -with a good _turella_; all the other houses in good condition" ("Register -of Bishop Grandisson," part i. p. 572). - -[161] Clive, in the diocese of Worcester, was appropriated to Worcester -Priory; formerly the rector lived in the _Aula Person_. In the middle of -the thirteenth century the rectory house was let to a tenant. The vicar -lived in one of several houses in the village which belonged to the -benefice; there were two chaplains, one of whom lived in another of these -houses, and the second in a soler ("Register of Worcester Priory" (Camden -Society), p. lxxxi.). - -[162] "Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages," p. 133. - -[163] "Essex Archol. Transactions," vol. vi. part iii. - -[164] Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Bishop Grandisson," pp. 349, 356. - -[165] Lyndewode, "Provinciale." Compare the 74th of the Canons of 1603. - -[166] "Grostete's Letters" (Rolls Series), p. 49. - -[167] "York Fabric Rolls" (Surtees Society), p. 243. - -[168] For picture of the basilard and purse see Royal MS., 6 Ed. VI., f. -478, p. 492, etc. - -[169] Catalogus omnium qui admissi pet'runt in fraternitatis beneficium -Monasterii Sti. Albani, cum picturis eorum et compendiosis narrationibus. -(British Mus., Nero D., vii.) - -[170] These, with the descriptions, are taken from "Scenes and Characters -of the Middle Ages," by the present writer. - -[171] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 57. - -[172] Ibid., p. 130. - -[173] The record of a suit in the Ecclesiastical Court of Durham gives us -a curious little illustrative anecdote of a quarrel in the Rectory of -Walsingham, in the year 1370. The bishop, the archdeacon, and their -attendants were passing the night there, probably after a Visitation. The -record tells us in full detail how, after the Bishop had gone out of the -hall of the rectory into the chamber, the family remaining in the hall, -Nicholas de Skelton uttered threats against John of Auckland, the servant -of the archdeacon, viz. that he would break his head. One of the -archdeacon's people intervened, when the angry Nicholas threatened to -break his head also. The archdeacon seems to have then interfered, when a -servant of Nicholas, offering to strike the archdeacon with a hawking -staff, the archdeacon drew his _cultellum_; the servant broke it in two -with his staff; the archdeacon hurled the half which he held, and it -killed another of the company who happened to interpose. The archdeacon -was summoned before the Court to answer for the homicide. - -[174] Quoted from "Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages," p. 248, by -the present writer. - -[175] Cushion for the back and seat of the bench. - -[176] "Wills and Inventories" (Surtees Society), p. 54. - -[177] "Testamenta Ebor.," i. p. 371. - -[178] "Testamenta Ebor.," i. p. 385. - -[179] "Testamenta Ebor.," i. p. 82. - -[180] York: "Wills and Inventories," p. 117. - -[181] "Essex Archol. Transactions," vol. vi. part ii. (New Series), p. -123. - -[182] Holinshed's "Description of Britain," p. 233. - -[183] Johnson's "Canons," etc., ii. 365. - -[184] Stapledon's "Register," p. 182. - -[185] H. Randolph, p. 378. - -[186] Lyndewode, "Provinciale," p. 35. - -[187] Archbishop Gray's "Register," p. 217. - -[188] Laid on tombs, or hung on the walls as ornaments. See Matthew Paris, -under 1256 (v. 574, Rolls ed.). - -[189] See woodcut, p. 165. - -[190] "Antiquary," 1897, pp. 279, 298. - -[191] For explanation of the meaning of the vestments in the "Book of -Ceremonies," 1539, see Mackenzie Walcott, "Parish Churches before the -Reformation." - -[192] It is to be regretted that in the revived use of copes, as seen, for -example, on the steps at the west end of St. Paul's, on the day of the -Queen's Jubilee procession, the designers have taken the unwieldy and -ungraceful fifteenth and sixteenth century garment as their pattern; it is -shaped like a cone, it does not fit the shoulders, it imprisons the arms, -its corners overlap in front, while its hood sticks up at the back of the -head. - -[193] Humbert de Romain, General of the Dominicans in the thirteenth -century, says that "the great and the poor seldom visited the churches." -Neander's "Church History," vii. 439 (Bohn). The great, as we shall see in -Chapter XXVII., had their domestic chapels. - -[194] T. Belson and J. Fowler, c. 1570, were sentenced to do penance in -church for working on a Sunday ("Ecclesiastical Proceedings of the Courts -of Durham" (Surtees Society), p. 105). Again, c. 1450, several persons -accused of working on Sundays and saints' days were sentenced to precede -the procession as penitents, to receive two "fustigations," and to abstain -from so offending in future under a penalty of 6_s._ 8_d._ (pp. 28-30). In -1451, Isabella Hunter and Katherine Pykering were sentenced, for washing -linen on the festival of St. Mary Magdalene, to receive two fustigations -_cum manipulo lini_ (p. 30). - -Francis Gray was admonished to come to church on Sunday under penalty of -4_d._, and on the festivals under penalty of 2_d._, to be applied to the -fabric of the church of Durham (p. 27). - -The same year Thomas Kirkham and Thomas Hunter, accused of mowing a -certain meadow on the festival of St. Oswald and receiving payment for it, -were sentenced to precede the procession, carrying in hand a bottle of -hay, to receive four fustigations, and not to offend again under penalty -of 10_s._ (p. 32). - -[195] Lyndwode says, "It maybe gathered that mass was always preceded by -matins or primes" (iii. 23). - -[196] This was the normal hour in the time of Gregory of Tours and of -Gregory the Great. - -[197] Bishop Poore, in his "Rule for Anchoresses," advises them not to be -communicated oftener than twelve times a year. The Lateran Council of 1215 -ordered that every one should communicate at least once a year at Easter, -and should confess at least once a year before Easter. - -[198] Common. - -[199] From Whitaker's text of "Piers Ploughman's Vision," part ii. p. 529. - -[200] Ibid. i. 104. - -[201] Early English Text Society. - -[202] In the presentation of the churchwardens of Ricall, Yorkshire, in -1519, they complain that "pedlars come into the church porch on feast -days, and there sell their goods." - -In 1416 the wardens and questmen of St. Michael-le-Belfry, York, presented -that "a common market of vendibles is held in the churchyard on Sundays -and holy days, and divers things, and goods, and rushes, are exposed for -sale" ("York Fabric Rolls"). - -[203] Cardwell. - -[204] Procter, "Hist. of the Book of Common Prayer," p. 227. - -[205] Peckham's "Constitutions," 1281, bid every priest to celebrate at -least once a week. - -[206] "The York Manual," by Rev. J. Raine (Surtees Society), p. 123. - -[207] See pp. 460, 461, 496, and p. 472. - -[208] The canons of Edgar required the clergy to preach every Sunday. - -[209] It was early in the twelfth century that seven was adopted as the -number of the Sacraments, vices, virtues, etc. The seven Sacraments are -first mentioned by Otto, Bishop of Bamberg, in 1124 (Neander, "Church -History," vii. 465). - -[210] See second footnote, p. 214. - -[211] See second footnote, p. 214. - -[212] Not infrequently a great preacher was sent by a bishop round his -diocese, and people were invited by the offer of indulgences to all who -would go to hear him. - -[213] From a very early time what we reckon as the first and second -commandments were taken together as the first; and what we reckon as the -tenth was divided into two. So King Alfred gives them in the beginning of -his Code of Law. - -[214] _Cum superstitionibus characterum._ - -[215] "Indolence, carnal security." - -[216] His writings are chiefly translations or adaptations of the works of -St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, and Hugh and Richard of St. Victor. They are -marked by tenderness of feeling, vigour, and eloquence in his prose style, -and grace and beauty in his verse. See "Yorkshire Writers"--"Richard of -Hampole and his Followers," by C. Horstman, 1895. Here is a short example -from "The Book made by Richard Hampole, Hermit, for an Anchoress" (Early -Eng. Text Society). "Wit thou well that a bodily turning to God without -thine heart following, is but a figure and likeness of virtue and of no -soothfastness. Therefore a wretched man or woman is that who neglecteth -all the inward keepings of himself, and maketh himself outwardly a form -only and likeness of holiness in habit or clothing, in speech and in -bodily works, beholding other men's deeds and judging their faults, -thinking himself to be something when he is nothing, and so neglecteth -himself. Do thou not so, but turn thine heart with thy body principally to -God, and shape thee within in His likeness, by meekness and charity and -other spiritual virtues, and then art thou truly turned to Him." - -[217] See "The Parson's Tale," in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." - -[218] Also in the Stowe MS. 89, 2, there are a series of trees -representing virtues and vices. - -[219] Together. - -[220] Other sponsors were required at the Confirmation (see p. 59). - -[221] Archbishop Simon of Sudbury, 1378, made a Constitution that all -should confess and communicate thrice a year, viz. Easter, Pentecost, and -Christmas, on pain of excommunication and refusal of burial (Johnson's -"Laws and Canons," ii. 444). - -[222] Death. - -[223] In the latter part of the eleventh century, for reasons of -expediency, the custom was introduced of dipping the bread into the wine, -and so administering to the communicants. This was condemned by the -Council of Claremont 1095, but kept its ground in England till forbidden -by the Council of London in 1175. The withdrawal of the wine from the -laity altogether began in the twelfth century. Anselm had prepared the way -by affirming that "the whole Christ was taken under either species." -Robert Pulleyn, 1170, taught that the flesh of Christ alone should be -distributed to the laity. The practice came into gradual use in the -thirteenth century; the second canon of Archbishop Peckham, 1281, bids the -parish priests to teach the more ignorant of the laity that the body and -blood of Christ are received under the single species of the bread. It is -believed not to have become general in England till it was ordered by the -Council of Constance in 1415, which excommunicated all priests who should -communicate the laity in both kinds. It is to be observed that in the -Sarum Missal there is no recognition whatever of administration in one -kind. - -In some churches there was an endowment for the provision of the holy -bread, as at St. Mary Magdalen, Colchester. - -[224] Gravely. - -[225] Both. - -[226] Hence. - -[227] Maiden. - -[228] This was first ordered by Pope Honorius III. in 1217. - -[229] The churchyard was frequently called the "sanctuary." - -[230] Ratified. - -[231] In baptism. - -[232] Locked. - -[233] There are various forms on record of this "general sentence of -excommunication." Two are given at pp. 86 and 119 of the "York Manual" -(Surtees Society). - -[234] Upon. - -[235] Go. - -[236] See plate opposite. - -[237] Printed by the Early English Text Society. - -[238] Chasuble. - -[239] Believe. - -[240] Another version says, "Don't wait for the priest to ask for the mass -penny, but go up and offer, though there is no obligation; it will make -your chattle increase in your coffer." - -[241] From another version of the book we extract the following sentence, -which contains an expression of the doctrine of the Eucharist-- - - Every day thou mayest see - The same body that died for thee, - Tent[A] if thou wilt take, - In figure and in form of bread, - That Jesus dealt ere He were dead, - For His disciples' sake. - - [A] Heed. - -[242] Abroad. - -[243] Dead. - -[244] Give utterance to. - -[245] Also. - -[246] "The Epic of the Fall of Man" (S. H. Gurteen), 1896. The translation -seems to be as close as may be, consistently with an intelligible -expression of the thoughts of the original and a poetical form. - -[247] "Political, Religious, and Love Poems," Furnival (Early English Text -Society), pp. 111, 151, 162. - -[248] Ransom. - -[249] Song of Solomon, ii. 5, 8. - -[250] Whence his pain. - -[251] Prosperity. - -[252] It is easy to quote a long list of quasi-married bishops and -dignitaries of this period. The last two bishops of Elmham, Stigand and -Ethelmar, appointed by the saintly and ascetic Edward the Confessor, were -married men; so was Herbert, the first bishop of the same see (removed to -Norwich), appointed by the Conqueror, and perhaps the second William -(1086), and Edward (1121). Robert Bloet, Bishop of Lincoln (1094), had a -son Simon, whom he made Dean of that Cathedral. Roger of Salisbury (1107) -was married. Robert Lymesey, of Chester (1086-1117), left a daughter -settled with her husband, Noel, on the see lands near Eccleshall; and -Hugh, Dean of Derby in this episcopate, was married. Roger of Lichfield -(1121) was a married man; he put his son Richard into the Archdeaconry of -Coventry, and he was afterwards promoted to the see (1161). Three Bishops -of Durham were married men, viz. Ralph Flambard (1099), Geoffrey Rufus -(1133), and the famous Hugh Puiset (1153); the wife of the latter was a -lady of the Percy family. Several Archbishops of York were the sons of -married clergymen. - -There is an extant letter from Thomas, the first Norman Archbishop of -York, in which he complains that his canons were married men. The Canons -of Durham turned out by Bishop William of S. Carilef (1081) were all -married men, so were some of those turned out of Rochester Cathedral by -Bishop Gundulf; one of them, gelric, who had retired to the Benefice of -Chatham, on his wife's death obtained her burial by the monks of the -Cathedral in the most honourable manner (S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 50). - -[253] At a visitation of Lincoln Cathedral by Bishop Bokingham, 1363-1398, -it appeared that almost all the cathedral clergy disobeyed the canons -(S.P.C.K., "Lincoln," p. 84). A statute of the Chapter of Bath and Wells, -in 1323, forbade any canon who had a concubine [wife] before his -appointment to meet her except in the presence of discreet witnesses. So -late as 1520 the Vicar-General had occasion to admonish the dean to -correct one of the canons for keeping a concubine [wife] in his house of -residence. The use of the ugly word by which the canons described these -persons was not indefensible; the old laws of Imperial Rome recognized a -kind of marriage with an inferior wife as respectable, it went so far at -one time as to require unmarried proconsuls to take such a wife with them -to their province, and this was not to prevent them from making afterwards -a legal marriage. For example, St. Helena was first the concubine of -Constantius, and he afterwards raised her to the higher dignity of his -wife, and Constantine, their son, raised her to the dignity of empress. - -[254] In 1221 and the following years, the pope issued mandates to the -English bishops bidding them deprive married clerks ("Papal Letters," vol. -i. pp. 79, 84, 86, 90, Rolls Series). - -[255] See also Roger of Wendover under 1225, ii. 287, Rolls Series. - -[256] This is an allusion to another canon which made it illegal for a man -to separate from his wife in order to enter into a religious order -requiring a vow of celibacy, without his wife's consent. - -[257] One explanation of the frequent repetition of these canons by -successive synods is that in those early days it was not a matter of -course that a law once made stood good until repealed; rather, on the -contrary, that a law lapsed by desuetude, and needed to be re-enacted from -time to time to keep it in vigour. The early kings renewed their -predecessors' concessions; grantees sought the confirmation of charters -from the heir of the original grantor; and laws of Parliament were often -passed again by subsequent Parliaments. So a new archbishop began his -reign by calling the provincial synod together and issuing a set of -provincial constitutions, repeating former canons, which it was still -necessary to keep in active use. - -[258] In the debates of the Twenty-fourth Session of the Council of Trent, -in the autumn of 1563, one patriarch declared that the proposed decree -annulling clandestine marriages was directly opposed to the law of God, -and that he would resist it at the peril of his life (Bishop of Bristol, -"On what are the Papal Claims founded?"--S.P.C.K.). - -[259] Hook's "Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury," vi. 317. - -[260] It is very significant that after the Reformation legislation had -legalized clerical marriages, the wives of the bishops did not openly live -in their palaces with them, but in houses of their own. It was a survival -of the custom that ecclesiastics might have wives, but that their wives -might not be introduced into society. - -[261] "Harl.," 862, p. 221. A more important example is that of Margaret -Countess of Flanders, who married a deacon, and subsequently repudiated -him and married again, with the result of a disputed succession (Matthew -Paris, under 1254 A.D., v. 435, Rolls Series). - -[262] "Transactions of the Gloucester Archol. Society," 1893. Paper on -"Newnham," by R. I. Kerr. - -[263] J. Raine, Preface to "Archbishop Gray's Register." - -[264] See other curious instances of it in the "Papal Letters," Rolls -Series, vol. i. pp. 239, 243. - -[265] "Letters of Henry III.," Rolls Series. - -[266] The Bishop of Oxford doubts whether the sons of such marriages after -the twelfth century would be ordained without a dispensation. - -[267] MS. 5824, f. 5. British Museum. - -[268] Pope Clement VI., in 1398, sent to Bishop Grandisson of Exeter at -his request a dispensation for fifty priests and scholars, by name, to -receive holy orders and hold benefices. Thirty are classed as -illegitimate, both parents being single persons; ten as having one parent -a married person; ten as born of presbyters or persons in holy orders -("Grandisson's Register," Hingeston-Randolph, part i. p. 147). - -[269] "Papal Letters," vol. i. p. 113. - -[270] "Register of Archbishop Gray," p. 73. - -[271] "Stapledon's Register," p. 180. - -[272] "Archbishop Gray's Register," J. Raine, p. 29. - -[273] Ibid., p. 153. - -[274] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills." - -[275] Tonsured. - -[276] There are frequent entries in the Episcopal Registers of -dispensations _super defectum natalium_ to the sons of _nativi_ to take -orders and hold benefices. There are several examples in which a bishop -gives such a dispensation to so-and-so "_nativus meus_," to take sacred -orders and hold ecclesiastical benefices; a gracious act of kindness to -one of his own serfs (see p. 130). - -[277] Should feed beggars. - -[278] Usually the bishop, but there were many exceptions. - -[279] Page 63. - -[280] "Labbe's Councils," vol. xxii. p. 234. - -[281] There is a picture of a bishop's visitation in the fourteenth -century MS. Royal 6 E. VI., and a much better of the sixteenth century in -the printed Pontifical, p. 196, and of an archdeacon's in the MS. Royal 6 -E. VI., fols. 132 and 137. - -[282] Procter, "History of the Book of Common Prayer," p. 262. - -[283] I refrain from repeating the unsupported assumption that these -synodsmen gave name to our modern sidesmen, for which there is no -evidence. Moreover, Professor Skeat assures me, in kind reply to a -question on the subject, that the principles which govern the gradual -changes of our language will not admit of the idea of the derivation of -the one word from the other. - -[284] From the "Annales de Burton," p. 307. - -[285] When St. Hugh became Bishop of Lincoln he made several decrees, one -of which was "that no layman have the celebration of masses inflicted on -him as a penance" ("Dioc. Hist. Lincoln," p. 103, S.P.C.K.). It looks as -if the clergy had set up a bad practice of inflicting attendance at Holy -Communion, and making an offering as an ordinary act of penance. It was -prohibited again in 1378 by Archbishop Simon of Sudbury (Johnson, "Laws -and Canons," ii. 444). - -[286] A vulgar game. - -[287] The pope was at this time discouraging the study of civil law by the -clergy (see Collier's "Ecclesiastical History," i. 464). - -[288] The bishop appointed certain priests as confessors of the clergy. - -[289] Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Walter Stapledon," p. -194. - -[290] Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Walter Stapledon," p. -130. - -[291] Ibid., p. 111. - -[292] Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Walter Stapledon," p. -573. - -[293] Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Walter Stapledon," p. -109. - -[294] S.P.C.K., "Dioc. Hist. of Hereford," p. 112. - -[295] Quivil's "Register" (Hingeston-Randolph), p. 337. - -[296] There may be some error, since in the "Taxatio" the annual income of -Bigby is given as 4 6_s._ 8_d._ - -[297] Stapledon's "Register," p. 342. - -[298] S.P.C.K., "Chichester Diocese," p. 104. - -[299] "Dioc. Hist. of Hereford," pp. 113, 114. - -[300] "Papal Letters," i. 59, Rolls Series. - -[301] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 163. - -[302] Whitaker's "Craven," p. 95. - -[303] (Job xix. 21), A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills." - -[304] "Test. Ebor.," p. 73. - -[305] Brown, "Fasc.," ii. 412. - -[306] October, 1441, the parishioners of Ashdown, Kent, complain that -their rector, Lawrence Horwood, does not provide at his own cost, as he -ought to do, a clerk to officiate in the church on holy days. The suit in -the bishop's court on this matter went on for two years, and was left -unsettled. - -[307] This parish clerk occurs in several other of our illustrations of -processions and services. - -[308] V. 171, Rolls Series. - -[309] "Mon. Ang.," iii. 227. - -[310] White Kennett, "Parochial Antiq., Glossary," _sub voc._ - -[311] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 87. - -[312] Ibid., p. 6. - -[313] Robert Aphulley, of Lincoln, 1407, makes a bequest to the Gild of -Clerks at Lincoln, durante dicta gilda, quando recitabitur nomen meum -inter nomina defunctorum, et hanc antiphon "Alma Redemptoris Mater," etc. -(A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 108). - -[314] Curled. - -[315] Spread out. - -[316] Hair. - -[317] Complexion. - -[318] Neatly. - -[319] Watchet, a kind of cloth. - -[320] Small twigs of trees (? May blossom). - -[321] Musical instruments. - -[322] Page 75. - -[323] Elizabeth Darcy, 13 Henry V., in her will, desires to be buried in -the church of the nuns of Heynynges, and leaves to their chapel a great -missal, and her portforium and great psalter to be fastened with an iron -chain. She leaves a book of romances, called "Leschell de Reson," and two -Primers, and a book called "Bybill," and another called "Sainz Ryall," and -another called "Lanselake." CC_s._ for masses, to be kept in a chest in -some secret place in Lincoln Cathedral and distributed to the chaplains -annually (A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 118). After the battle of -Lincoln "Fair," in 1221, the victors "pillaged the churches throughout the -city, breaking open the chests and storerooms with axes and hammers, and -seizing all the gold and silver in them, clothes of all colours, women's -ornaments, gold rings, goblets, and jewels" ("Roger of Wendover," ii. 218, -Rolls Series). - -[324] See instances of it in "Roger of Wendover," ii. 162, 165, and iii. -209, 211, Rolls Series. - -[325] See Erasmus's "Praise of Folly," and an account of the "Sanctuaries -at Durham and Beverley," by Rev. J. Raine (Surtees Society). - -[326] See "Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages," pp. 157-194, by the -present writer. - -[327] Lyndewood's "Pontificale," pp. 298, 156. - -[328] J. C. Cox, in "Curious Church Gleanings," p. 44. - -[329] "York Fabric Rolls," Surtees Society, p. 248. - -[330] Wilkins, "Concilia," ii. 170. - -[331] See articles in the _Churchman's Family Magazine_ for 1865, p. 419. - -[332] S.P.C.K., "Dioc. Hist. of Lincoln." - -[333] Collier, "Eccl. Hist.," i. 438. - -[334] Peckham, for example (see Collier, "Eccl. Hist.," i. 484). - -[335] "Kingston-on-Thames," by A. Heales, p. 25. - -[336] "Dioc. Hist. of Lincoln," p. 150, S.P.C.K. - -[337] Boniface VII., in his decretal, allows a sub-deacon to take a -benefice, and grants him seven years in which to qualify himself for the -orders of deacon and priest, by dispensation or permission of his superior -(Johnson, "Laws and Canons"). - -[338] Bishop Quivil, in 1281, gave a young rector the usual licence of -absence for study, and to put his benefice to farm _salva Canonica -Porcione assignanda per Episcopum pauperibus ejusdem Parochi prout in -ultimo concilio Lambethensi est statutum_ (Quivil's "Register," p. 321). -See also pp. 32, 35, for donations to the fabric. - -In 1322, the Bishop of Bath and Wells gave this licence to Emericus of -Orchard, and also to Peter Pyke of Kyngeston, on condition that they each -should say one hundred Psalms for the soul of the bishop, and of all the -faithful departed (T. Hugo's "Extracts," vol. i. p. 86). - -In 1312, Master William de Carreu, clerk, instituted to Holsworthy, had -dispensation for non-residence for three years for study, which in 1315 -was renewed for a year, and again in 1316, 1317, and 1318. Master Richard -de Honemanacole, sub-deacon, instituted to Iddesleigh in 1320, had a -dispensation for non-residence for three years for study, which was -renewed in 1323 for a year in foreign parts, and in 1324 renewed again for -two years (Bishop Stapledon's "Register"). - -[339] "Letters of Grostete" (Rolls Series), pp. 63, 68, 151. - -[340] Quivil's "Register," p. 353. - -[341] S.P.C.K., "Diocesan History of Bath and Wells." - -[342] Matthew Paris, under 1251 and 1252 A.D., v. 256, 279. - -[343] Grandisson's "Register," p. 520. - -[344] A.D. 1338, Licence to John Hert, Rector of Croxton, to put his -church to farm for four years, at the instance of Ade. Lymbergh. Leave of -absence for a year to William de Colesbrok, at the instance of Dom. Thom. -de Astele. Leave of absence to Dom. Wells de Gresleygh, Rector of -Hildresham, for two years, at the instance of the Countess Mareschal -("Register of Bishop Grandisson, of Exeter"). - -[345] "Transactions of the Essex Archological Society," vol. vi. part ii. -(New Series), p. 110. - -[346] "Anglo-Saxons," iii. 297. - -[347] Whitaker's "Craven," p. 164. - -[348] Whitaker's "Whalley," p. 134. - -[349] In the time of Edward I. - -[350] A ground plan and elevations of some of the buildings of the palace -and deanery are engraved in the Lincoln Volume of the Archol. Institute, -1848 A.D. - -[351] The vicars of the residentiaries lived at first in the residence -houses in something like the capacity of chaplains ("The Cathedral," E. W. -Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury). Ralph of Shrewsbury, 1329-1361, -incorporated them at Wells. - -[352] Benson's (Archbishop of Canterbury) "The Cathedral," p. 35. - -[353] Octagonal at York, Salisbury, Wells; decagonal at Old St. Paul's, -Hereford, Lichfield, and here at Lincoln. - -[354] Benson, "The Cathedral," p. 19. - -[355] An example of a married canon. - -[356] Benson, "The Cathedral," p. 12. - -[357] Benson, "The Cathedral," p. 27. - -[358] There is a portrait of Bishop Longland, at the beginning of a -Benedictional written for him, in the Add. MS. 21974, in the British -Museum Library. - -[359] In the "Taxatio" of Pope Nicholas IV., A.D. 1291, p. 76, the goods -spiritual and temporal of the bishop everywhere in the Diocese of Lincoln -are returned at the round sum of 1000. - -[360] J. Talbot was Prebendary of Cliffeton, Notts, worth 20, and had 6 -13_s._ 4_d._ from the dean and chapter to find a cantarist for the chantry -of Queen Eleanor at Harby, in the parish of Clifton, Notts. S. Grene or -Foderby was Prebendary of Bedford Minor, worth 3 10_s._ 9_d._ - -[361] Probably a worker in _laton_, an alloy of brass. - -[362] "Pulsan'ad organ;" it could not be the organ blower, for his stipend -was twice as much as that of the carpenter and lathonius. - -[363] They consisted of the impropriation of five parochial benefices. - -[364] He was a very forward man in defacing the shrines of this church and -delivering up the treasure thereof into King Henry VIII.'s hands (Willis's -"Survey of Cathedrals"). - -[365] "Valor Eccl.," vol. iv. p. 198. - -[366] Ibid., p. 43. - -[367] Ibid., p. 88. - -[368] Ibid., p. 124. - -[369] Ibid., p. 166. - -[370] Ibid., p. 78. - -[371] Ibid., p. 138. - -[372] Ibid., p. 344. - -[373] Ibid., p. 107. - -[374] Ibid., p. 88. - -[375] Ibid., p. 127. - -[376] Ibid., p. 64. - -[377] "Valor Eccl.," vol. iv. p. 20. - -[378] 1 Chron. ii. 5. - -[379] There might be--often were--canons who had no prebends; that is the -condition to which the too-sweeping reforms of recent times have reduced -the great majority of the canons of all our cathedrals. - -[380] Benson, "The Cathedral." - -[381] See two canons in their tippets, in Tib. E. VII. f. 27, v., an -English MS. of the latter half of the fifteenth century. - -[382] "P'comunis et vinis" ("Valor," iv. pp. 8_b_ and 22). - -[383] See p. 362. - -[384] The archdeaconries of this diocese (except that of Oxford) had no -endowment; their income was derived from fees, etc. - -[385] Dr. Foxe's Christian name is not given. A Matthew Foxe was rector of -Hardwyk, 6 17_s._ 5_d._; a John Fox was vicar of East Haddon, 15; and a -Thomas Fox, vicar of Lewesden, 6 17_s._ 4_d._ - -[386] ? founder of a Chantry, 5 6_s._ 8_d._, at Leighton Bromeswold -Church (see "Valor," vol. iv. p. 258). - -[387] Up to the fifteenth century, at least, part of the cathedral nave -was used as the parish church of St. Peter; at a later period, probably -after Henry VIII., the north transept was used for that purpose, and so -continued until 1853, when the present parish church was built. - -[388] "Taxatio of Pope Nicholas," p. 138_b_. - -[389] Among the items are the rent received from the Society of Lincoln's -Inn for their Inn, 6 13_s._ 4_d._; and the rent of certain tenements in -Chancery Lane (which are still called the Chichester Rents), 2 13_s._ -4_d._ - -[390] "Valor," vol. i. p. 308. - -[391] Ibid., p. 318. - -[392] Ibid., p. 340. - -[393] Ibid., p. 346. - -[394] Ibid., vol. iv. p. 19. - -[395] Ibid., p. 19_b_. - -[396] Ibid., vol. i. p. 301. - -[397] Ibid., p. 185. - -[398] "Valor," vol. i. p. 301. - -[399] Ibid., p. 333. - -[400] Ibid., p. 301. - -[401] Ibid., p. 324. - -[402] Ibid., p. 317. - -[403] Ibid., p. 300. - -[404] Ibid., p. 345. - -[405] An antiphon was sung nightly before St. Mary's image by the junior -vicar after evensong (1459-63). The shrine of St. Richard stood as usual -at the back of the high altar; a harper used to play and sing the praises -of the saint (Rev. T. Hugo). - -[406] Rev. Mackenzie Walcott, _Building News_, May 15, 1874. - -[407] The permanent relation between a religious house and its founder is -illustrated in the case of Boxgrove Cluniac Priory, Sussex. The founder, -in 1120, Robert de Hara, stipulated [for himself and his descendants, we -take for granted] that he should choose one of the monks to officiate in -the chapel at his neighbouring manor house of Halnaker; and that if at any -time the monks should fail to elect to a vacancy in the office of prior -within three months, he should nominate. - -The prioress and nuns of Mount Grace, c. 1250, bound themselves to present -each successive Prioress for approval to John le Verdun, their patron -(_advocato nostro_), and his heirs or their deputies ("Eccl. Documents," -p. 66, Camden Society. See also Cartnell Priory, "Papal Letters," vol. i. -p. 135, Rolls Series). - -[408] See the case of two of the Prebendaries of Lincoln, named at p. 343; -and of two parish priests, at pp. 286 and 294. - -[409] Matthew of Westminster says the Franciscans dwelt "in bodies of ten -or seven;" but Chaucer seems to intimate that the usual number of friars -in each house was thirteen-- - - And bring me then twelve friars, will ye why? - For thirtene is a convent as I wis. - "Sompnour's Tale." - -[410] Wert thou not. - -[411] Health and strength. - -[412] Seal. - -[413] Neander's "Church History," vii. 403 and 399. - -[414] Lynwoode's "Provinciale," p. 133. - -[415] _e.g._ the valuation, in the "Valor Ecclesiasticus," of the -Carmelites of Lynn is a clear income of 35_s._ 8_d._; of the Dominicans, -18_s._; of the Austin Friars, 24_s._ 6_d._ ("Valor Eccl.," iii. 397, 398). -At Northampton the rent fetched by the whole friary, with the friar's -house and garden, is 10 10_s._; of the Franciscans, 6 17_s._ 4_d._; of -the Dominicans, 5 7_s._ 10_d._ ("Valor Eccl.," v. 318). - -[416] Except the _trinoda necessitas_. - -[417] As a consequence of the Scottish Wars, the northern province was so -harried and impoverished that the clergy were unable to pay the tenths -demanded, and a new taxation of part of the Province was made in 1318. - -[418] St. Botolph, Colchester. - -[419] See Appendix II. - -[420] The Bishop of Oxford says the whole number of parish churches in the -Middle Ages was not much over 8000 ("Const. Hist.," iii. p. 396). There -have been very erroneous estimates current. The Parliament of 1371 granted -to the king a sum of 50,000, to be raised by contribution of 22_s._ 3_d._ -from each parish, there being, according to the common opinion, 40,000 -parishes in England. On this the Bishop of Oxford makes a note ("Const. -Hist.," ii. 459) that it is an illustration of the absolute -untrustworthiness of medival figures, which, even when most -circumstantially minute, cannot be accepted, except where as in the public -accounts vouchers can be quoted. The returns to a writ issued by the king -to the local authorities of each shire to certify the number of parishes -in it, showed that there were only 8669. Stow, in his "Annals," p. 268, -gives the returns _in extenso_. The anonymous author of the famous libel, -"A Supplication for Beggars," says there are within the realm of England -52,000 parish churches. Maskell, in his "Monumenta Ritualia," I. ccij, -mentions several MSS. in the British Museum which contain memoranda on the -subject, Royal 8 B xv., Royal 8 D iv., Titus D 3. In the first, in a -fifteenth-century handwriting, is a note _sunt in Regno Angli Ecclesi -parochiales_, 46,100. - -[421] In 1371 the smaller benefices and chantries were taxed by the king -(Stowe, "Annales," p. 268). - -[422] The following are the details for the several dioceses (except -Durham and Chester):-- - - Diocese. Beneficed. Unbeneficed. - Lincoln--Archdeaconry of Lincoln, Stow, - Leicester, and Rutland 2,001 1,660 - Lincoln--Archdeaconry of Northampton, Hunts, - Bucks, Oxon, and Bedford 1,522 1,313 - Canterbury 599 495 - Bath and Wells--Archdeaconry of Bath 119 82 - Bath and Wells--Archdeaconry of Taunton 139 72 - Bath and Wells--Archdeaconry of Wells 335 336 - Salisbury--Archdeaconry of Berks and Wilts 461 246 - Salisbury--Archdeaconry of Dorchester and Sarum 734 467 - Exeter--County of Devon 559 756 - Exeter--County of Cornwall 199 487 - Ely 358 658 - Chichester 473 168 - London--Archdeaconry of London 336 427 - London--Archdeaconry of Essex, Middlesex, and - Colchester 268 241 - London--"et predicti Coll." 531 526 - Rochester--In the City and Diocese of Rochester 157 54 - Rochester--In the Deanery of Iselham 4 9 - Jurisdiction of St. Alban 106 50 - Winchester--Archdeaconry of Winton 616 305 - Winchester--Archdeaconry of Surrey 218 -- - Winchester--In Arch. predicti -- 152 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Coventry 272 241 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Stafford 180 321 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Derby 175 281 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Cestr 162 336 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Salop 106 -- - Worcester--Archdeaconry of Wigan 425 425 - Worcester--Archdeaconry of Gloucester 414 409 - York 1,790 1,481 - Carlisle 135 97 - Norwich 1,844 1,848 - ------ ------ - 15,238 13,943 - -[423] The preface to the "Valor," when it was printed by the Record -Office, says, "We have here presented before us in one grand conspectus -the whole ecclesiastical establishment of England and Wales, as it had -been built up in successive centuries, and when it was carried to its -greatest height.... So that we at once see not only the ancient extent and -amount of that provision which was made by the piety of the English nation -for the spiritual edification of the people, by the erection of churches -and chapels for the decent performance of the simple and touching -ordinances of the Christian religion; but how large a proportion had been -saved from private appropriation of the produce of the soil, and how much -had been subsequently given, to form a public fund accessible to all, out -of which might be supported an order of cultivated and more enlightened -men dispersed through society, and by means of which blessings -incalculable might be spread amongst the whole community. If there were -spots of extravagances, yet on the whole it is a pleasing as well as a -splendid spectacle, especially if we look with minute observation into any -portion of the Record, and compare it with a map which shows the -distribution of population in those times over the island, and then -observe how religion had pursued men even to his remotest abodes, and was -present among the most rugged dwellers in the hills and wildernesses of -the land, softening and humanizing their hearts." - -[424] - - Rectories. Vicarages. Chapels. Chantries. - Canterbury 225 108 13 23 - Rochester 128 56 10 13 - Bath and Wells 368 126 33 53 - Chichester 279 124 13 39 - London 731 201 31 310 - Winchester 289 95 21 14 - Sarum 540 182 68 72 - Oxford 167 64 8 10 - Lincoln 1,310 492 30 213 - Peterboro 355 92 10 30 - Exeter 524 185 43 36 - Gloucester 246 106 35 30 - Hereford 152 84 27 57 - Coventry and Lichfield 466 207 29 106 - Chester 197 78 5 127 - Worcester 133 47 17 31 - Norwich 1,103 276 31 60 - Ely 157 80 11 29 - Llandaff 143 61 22 12 - St. David's 288 120 10 3 - Bangor 110 27 45 4 - St. Asaph 157 83 4 0 - York 581 305 19 424 - Carlisle 75 38 0 19 - Durham 114 70 1 18 - ------ ------ ---- ------ - 8,838 3,307 536 1,733 - -[425] "Constitutional History," iii. 366. - -[426] In the Easter account-book. - -[427] "Valor," v. 32, 263, etc. - -[428] "Valor," v. 35. - -[429] Ibid., p. 61. - -[430] Ibid., p. 75. - -[431] Ecclia de Donecaster divisa est pars que fuit Hugonis p't' pens' in -eadem, 43 6_s._ 8_d._; pens' Abbis Be Marie Ebor. in eadem, 5; pars -Rogers' in eadem p't' pens', 40; pens' Abbis Be Marie Ebor. in eadem, 5 -("Taxatio," p. 299). - -[432] "Valor," v. 45. - -[433] Ibid., p. 157. - -[434] The chrisom was the linen cloth, or garment, which the priest put on -the recently baptized child. It was to be offered by the mother when she -came to be churched. It might be used again at baptism, or for other -church purposes, or it might be converted into ornaments for the good of -the church, but not turned to any profane use ("Constitutions of St. -Edmund of Canterbury," 1234). - -In the Visitation of Churches in the patronage of St. Paul's (1249-1252, -p. xii.), fifty-six panni chrismales are said to be at Tillingham church, -and at Pelham Furneaux several chrisoms were used as _manutergia_--napkins -for wiping the hands at mass. - -[435] "Valor," iii. 45. - -[436] "Valor Eccl.," iii. 45. - -[437] Ibid., iii. p. 38. - -[438] Ibid., v. p. 189. - -[439] Denar' Missaribz et candel' oblat'. Porcione panis bndict' diebus -dni oblat' (see p. 236). - -[440] Ibid., v. 157. - -[441] For sending his _locum tenens_ to the synods and processions? -("Valor Eccl.," i. p. 67). - -[442] "History of Agriculture and Prices in England," J. E. T. Rogers. - -[443] "Annals of St. Paul's Cathedral," p. 145. - -[444] Matthew of Westminster, under the year 1249, says of a number of men -in the country about Southampton, that they were of such rank that they -were considered equal to knights, and that their estates were valued at -40, 50, or 80 a year (Rolls Series, ii. 360). - -[445] Ibid., under year 1253, ii. 383. - -[446] Agobarth, Archbishop of Lyons, c. 833, complains that there is -scarcely one to be found who aspires to any degree of honour and temporal -distinction who has not his domestic priests; and that these chaplains are -constantly to be found serving tables, mixing the strained wine, leading -out the dogs, managing ladies' horses, or looking after the lands. - -[447] Lib. ix. ep. lxx. (Migne 77, p. 100). - -[448] Thorpe's "Select Charters," pp. 521 and 511. - -[449] Under the year 1067. - -[450] In Ludlow Castle, the great chapel in the court was built soon after -the Temple Church in London, and, like it, with a circular nave and -aisles, and projecting choir. - -[451] A chapel at Charney, Berks, of the latter part of the thirteenth -century, is described and engraved in the "Archological Journal" for -1848, p. 311. - -[452] These castle chapels were usually dedicated to some saint; as -Windsor to St. George, the Tower to St. Peter, Oxford to St. George, -Tattershall to St. Nicholas, Toryton to St. James, Barnard Castle to the -Twelve Apostles, Alnwick to the Twelve Apostles, etc. - -[453] "Archologi," xxv. pp. 320, 323. - -[454] Chapel of the Earl of Northumberland-- - -First, a preist, a doctor of divinity, a doctor of law, or a bachelor of -divinitie, to be dean of my lord's chapel. - -It. A preist for to be surveyour of my lorde's lands. - -It. A preist for to be secretary to my lorde. - -It. A preist for to be amner (almoner) to my lorde. - -It. A preist for to be sub-dean for ordering and keaping the quoir in my -lorde's chapell daily. - -It. A preist for riding chaplein for my lorde. - -It. A preist for a chaplein to my lorde's eldest son, to wait uppon him -daily. - -It. A preist for my lorde's clerk of the closet. - -It. A preist for a maister of gramer in my lorde's house. - -It. A preist for reading the Gospel in the chapel daily. - -It. A preist for singing of our Ladie's Mass in the chapell daily. - -The number of these persons as chapleins and priests in household are xi. - -The gentlemen and children of my lord's chappell which be not appointed to -attend at no time but only in exercising of Godde's service in the chapell -daily at Matteins, Lady-Mass, Highe-Mass, Evensong, and Compeynge:-- - -First, a bass. - -It. A second bass. - - A maister of the childer, or counter-tenor. - - Second and third counter-tenor. - - A standing tenor. - - A second, third, and fourth standing tenor. - -The number of these persons as gentlemen of my lorde's chappell xi. - -Children of my lorde's chappell-- - -Three trebles and three second trebles, in all vi. - - * * * * * - -A memorandum of all the offerings of my lorde and my lady and my lorde's -children customably used yearly at principall feasts, and other offeringe -dayes of the yere-- - -Furst. My lorde's offeringe accustomede upon All hallow-Day yerely, when -his lordshippe is at home at the Highe Mass, if he kepe Chapell, xij_d._ - -Item. My lade's offerringe accustomede upon All hallowe-Day yerely, if she -offer at the Highe Masse, if my lorde kepe chapell, to be paid out of my -lord's coffures, if she be at my lorde's fyndinge and not at her owen, -viij. - -And, not to repeat the formal verbiage in every entry-- - -On Xmasday my lord gave xij, and my lady viij. - -On St. Stephen's Day, when his lordeshipp is at home, a groit to bow at a -Low Mass in his closet. - -On New-Yers-Day, my lord, if he be at home and keep chapel, offers xij, -and my lady viij. - -On Twelfth Day my lord offers xij, and my lady viij. - -On Candilmas-Day to be sett in his lordschippe's candil to offer at the -High Mass v groits for the v Joyes of our lady xx_d._, and my lady xij. -And my lord useth and accustomyth yerely upon Candilmas-Day to caus to be -delyveride for the offeringe of my lords son and heire the lorde Percy to -be sett in his candil ij, and for every one of my yonge masters, my lords -yonge sonnes to be sett in the candils affore the offeringe j for aither -of them, iiij. On St. Blaye's Day to be sett in his lordsshippe candil to -offer at Hye Mass, if his lordschyp kepe chapell iiij_d._, and my lady -iiij, and my lorde sone and heire j, and my lords yonger sonnes j for -every of them. Upon Goode-Friday when his lorschippe crepeth the cros, -iiij, my lady iiij, and my lord Percy ij, and my yonge masters, when they -crepe the cross, j. - -On Easter Even, when his lordshipp taketh his rights, iiij, and my lady, -when her ladischipe taketh her rights, iiij, and his lordschippe's -children that be of aige to take their rights, ij, to every of them. And -my lord useth yerely to caus to be delyvrede to every of his lordschippe's -wardes or Hausmen, or anny other yonge gentilmen that be at his -lordschippe's fynding, and be of aige to take their rights after ij, to -every such person. - -On Easter day, in the mornynge, when my lord crepeth to the cross after -the Resurreccion iiij, and my lady iiij, and the lord Percy, and my yonge -masters every of them j. - -On Easter day at High Mass my lord offers xjj, my lady viij, and his -children each j. - -On St. George's Day, when my lord is at home, and kepith St. George's -Feast, x_d._ - -My lorde's offeringe accustomed at the Mas of Requiem, upon the morrow -after Seyne George-Day, when his lordschip is at home, and kepith Sayn -George Feast, which is accustomed yerely to be don for the soulles of all -the knightes of the Order of the Garter departede to the mercy of God, -iiij. - -My lord useth when he is at home, and kepith Dergen over night, and Mas of -Requiem upon the morrowe of my lord his Father xij month mynde, to offer -at the Mas of Requiem iiij, and his sons, every of them, at the Mas of -Requiem done for my lord's father xij month mynde j. - -On Ascension Day my lord offers xij, my lady viij. - -On Whitsonday xjj, my lady viij, and his children j. - -On Trinity Sonday xij, my lady viij. - -On Mychaelmas iiij, for his lordschipe offeringe to the Holy Blode of -Hailles (Hales) iiij; for his offeringe to our Lady of Walsyngeham iij; to -Sayne Margarets, Lyncolinschire iiij. - -My lord useth yerely to sende for the upholding of the light of waxe, -which his lordschip fynds byrnynge yerely before the Holy Blode of -Hailles, containing xvj lb. of wax in it after vij_d._, ob. for the -fyndynge of every lb.; if redy wrought by a covenant maide by gret with -the monk for the hole yere for fynding of the saide light byrnying x_s._ - -The same for a light at Walsingham vj_s._, viii_d._, and at St. Margaret's -x. And for a light to burne before our Lady in the Whitefrers of Doncaster -of my lord's foundation at mas-tyme daily xiij_s._ iiij_d._ - -Presents at Xmas to Barne Bishop [the Boy Bishop?] of Beverley and York, -when he comes, as he is accustomed, yearly. - -Rewards to the children of his chapell when they do sing the responde -called _Exaudivi_ at the mattynstime for xi in vespers upon Allhallow Day, -6_s._ 8_d._ - -On St. Nicholas Eve, 6_s._ 8_d._ - -To them of his lordshipe's chappell if they doe play the play of the -Nativitie upon Xmas Day in the mornynge in my lorde's chappell before his -lordship xx_s._ - -For singing _Gloria in Excelsis_ at the mattens time upon Xmas Day in the -mornyng. - -To the Abbot of Miserewle [Misrule] on Xmas (?) - -To the yeoman or groom of the vestry for bringing him the hallowed taper -on Candlemas Day? - -To his lordship's chaplains and other servts. that play the play before -his lordship on Shrofetewsday at night xx_s._ - -That play the play of Resurrection upon Estur Daye in the mg. in y lorde's -chappell before his lordship. - -To the yeoman or groom of the vestry on Allhallows Day for syngnge for all -christynne soles the saide nygthe so it be past mydnight 3_s._ 4_d._ - - * * * * * - -The Earl and Lady were brother and sister of St. Christopher Gilde Yorke, -and pd. 6_s._ 8_d._ each yearly; and when the Master of the Gild brought -my lord and my lady for their lyverays a yard of narrow violette clothe -and a yard of narrow rayed cloth, 13_s._ 4_d._ (_i.e._ a yard of each to -each). - -And to Proctor of St. Robert's, Knasbruge, when my lorde and my lady were -brother and sister, 6_s._ 8_d._ each. - - * * * * * - -At pp. 272-278 is an elaborate programme of the ordering of my lord's -chapel for the various services. - -At p. 292 is an order about the washing of the linen of the chapel for a -year. Eighteen surplices for men, and six for children, and seven albes, -and five altar cloths for covering of the altars, sixteen times a year -against the great feasts. - -At p. 285 is an order that the vestry stuff shall have at every removal -[for it was carried about from one to another of my lord's houses] one -cart for the carrying of the nine antiphoners, the four grailles, the -hangings of the three altars in my lord's closet and my ladie's, and the -sort [suit] of vestments and single vestments and copes "accopeed" daily, -and all other my lord's chappell stuff to be sent afore my lord's chariot -before his lordship remove ("Antiq. Repertory," iv. 242). - -[455] Whose emoluments at the beginning of the sixteenth century are all -given in the "Valor" of Henry VIII., vol. ii. p. 317. - -[456] "Valor," ii. p. 153. - -[457] "Taxatio," p. 298. - -[458] Where there was a single chaplain, he probably always had a boy who -"served" him at mass, and also acted as his personal attendant. - -[459] Whitaker's "Craven." - -[460] "Taxatio," p. 18. - -[461] Page's "Yorkshire Chantries." - -[462] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 6. - -[463] "Valor Eccl.," ii. 403. - -[464] An oratory differs from a church; a church is appointed for public -worship, and has an endowment for the minister and others; an oratory is -not built for saying mass, nor endowed, but ordained for a family to -perform its household worship in. A bell might not be put up in an -oratory, because it was not a place of public worship. - -[465] The exemption from the jurisdiction of the ordinary of royal chapels -is recognized by a bull of Innocent IV. ("Annales de Burton," p. 275). - -[466] Grostete summoned Earl Warren and his chaplain for having Divine -service celebrated in his hall at Grantham, being an unconsecrated place -("Letters of Grostete," Rolls Series, p. 171). - -[467] Eyton's "Shropshire," ix. 326. - -[468] There are similar conditions in a licence in 1310, to Dame Matilda -de Hywys for her chapel of Tremetherecke, in the parish of Duloc (Register -of Bishop Stapledon of Exeter, "Hingeston-Randolph," p. 300). - -[469] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 434. - -[470] See "Description of the Vyne," by the late Mr. Chute, the -proprietor. - -[471] The clerk whose duty it was to keep the bishop's register sometimes -grew weary of writing the so-frequent record in full, and simply noted -that licence was granted to so-and-so, _in form communi_, or _in form -consueta_ ("Grandisson's Register," pp. 492, 509, etc.). - -[472] Canon Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Edmund Stafford," p. 271. - -[473] Edit. J. Raine, p. 58. - -[474] Edit. J. Raine, p. 271. - -[475] "Register of Bath and Wells" (Rev. T. Hugo's "Extracts"), p. 158. -There are other instances, at Maystoke, Hoddesdon, Atthorpe, in the "Papal -Letters," vol. i. pp. 192, 522. - -[476] Edited by Mr. George Nichols for the Camden Society. - -[477] "Sussex Archol. Coll.," iii. 112. - -[478] G. Offor, "Life of Tyndale." - -[479] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 136. - -[480] "Richmondshire Wills," p. 34. - -[481] "Test. Ebor.," p. 220. - -[482] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 57. - -[483] Ibid., p. 111. - -[484] "Lichfield," p. 168, S.P.C.K. - -[485] "Eccl. Proceedings of Courts of Durham," p. 44. - -[486] "Register" of Bishop Gray of Lincoln. - -[487] In 1348 the Convent of St. Augustine, Canterbury, and in 1365 the -Convent of Westminster, petitioned the pope to have Divine offices -celebrated in the chapels of their manors and churches, _i.e._ rectories -("Papal Letters," vol. i. pp. 139, 506). - -[488] "Hingeston-Randolph," p. 319. - -[489] Ibid., p. 378. - -[490] Walcott's "Chichester Registers." - -[491] Alternate vertical stripes of white and red (?). - -[492] "Fifty Earliest English Wills," etc., E. E. Text S., p. 5. - -[493] The longest time allowed for saying a mass is an hour; those who say -it in less than half an hour are reproved (J. H. Dickenson, "The Sarum -Missal"). - -[494] Mallory's "History of Prince Arthur." - -[495] "Autobiography of Anne Murray," in the time of James I. (Camden -Society). - -[496] In Saxon times the priest and brethren of Bath admitted Swi and -Theodgefu his wife to brotherhood and bedroedenne (prayer) for life and -death (Thorpe's "Diplomatarium," p. 436). Gilbert Tyson, _temp._ William -I. or II., gave land to Selby "for the soul of my lord King William, and -for my soul and the souls of my wife and children, ... on condition that I -be _plenarius frater_ in the said church." Sir Roger Tromyn and Dame Joan -his wife were admitted, in 1307, to share in the prayers of the Abbey of -Wymore, and to have their obsequies celebrated when they deceased as for a -brother of the house ("Eccl. Documents," Camden Society, pp. 49, 72). - -[497] Osborn, Abbot of St. Evroult (1063), instituted an anniversary, on -the 26th June, for the fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters of all the -monks of St. Evroult. The names of all the brethren were registered in a -long roll when professed. This roll was kept near the altar throughout the -year, and an especial commemoration was made before God of the persons -inscribed, when the priest says in celebrating mass, "Animas famulorum -famularum que tuorum," etc. "Vouchsafe to join to the society of Thine -elect, the souls of Thy servants, both men and women, whose names are -written in the roll presented before Thy holy altar." At the anniversary, -on 26th June, the roll of the deceased was spread open on the altar, and -prayers were offered, first for the dead and afterwards for living -relations and benefactors and all the faithful in Christ ("Orderic -Vitalis," i. 447). - -William de Ros, clerk of Bayeux, gave 40 sterling to the monks of St. -Evroult.... His name was inscribed in the register by the monks of St. -Evroult for the many benefits he conferred on the abbey, and masses, -prayers, and alms were appointed for him as if he had been a brother there -professed (i. 269). - -Some of the monks of St. Evroult contributed largely to the monastery, and -procured from their relations, acquaintances, and friends donations of -tithes and churches, and ecclesiastical ornaments for the use of the -brethren. - -[498] Surtees Society, the "Liber Vit of Durham." - -[499] There were, in fact, a few others; _e.g._ the Domestic Chapel at the -Vyne, Hampshire, had been founded as a chantry. - -[500] In Yorkshire, less than a dozen are recorded before the fourteenth -century, about a quarter of the whole number were founded between 1300 and -1350, the greatest number from 1450 to 1500 (Page's "Yorkshire Chantries," -Surtees Society). - -[501] If groups of united chantries be reckoned as one, or 53 if each be -counted separately; served by 52 priests, with an average income of 7 -9_s._ 6_d._ The chantry priests lived in a mansion founded for them called -Priest's House, or in the chambers of their respective chantries ("St. -Paul's and Old City Life," p. 100, W. S. Simpson). - -[502] For another example of a foundation deed of a chantry, see that of -Thomas, Earl of Derby (p. 469), in Blackburn parish church, 1514 -(Whitaker's "Whalley," ii. 322) - -[503] Dan John Raventhorpe leaves a wooden side altar with a cupboard -beneath the said altar (almariolum subtus idem altare) to keep the books -and vestments. So also in the will of Richard Russell, citizen of York, -1435 ("Test. Ebor.," ii. 53). - -[504] Wodderspoon, "Memorials of Ipswich," p. 352. - -[505] Chantry Certificates, Co. York, Roll 70, No. 6. - -[506] "York Fabric Rolls," p. 87. - -[507] "Register" of Bishop Buckingham, p. 282. - -[508] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 91. - -[509] S.P.C.K., "Diocese of Lichfield," p. 161. So at the Free Chapel at -Kingston (see p. 125). - -[510] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 29. - -[511] Ibid., p. 60. - -[512] Ibid., p. 150. - -[513] Newcourt's "Repertorium." - -[514] "Diocesan Hist. of Hereford," S.P.C.K. - -[515] "Lichfield Diocese," p. 115, S.P.C.K. - -[516] Here are a few examples from Lincoln Diocese only, within fifty -years. William Aghton, Archdeacon of Bedford, 1422, left a bequest for -masses for his soul. Richard of Ravenser, Archdeacon of Lincoln, 1385, -leaves 2_s._ to every nun of the Order of Sempringham and every anchorite -or recluse in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, and numerous other bequests to -religious houses, besides a manor and certain tenements to be sold in aid -of a chaplain of the vicars [choral] of Lincoln, to celebrate at St. -Giles's Without, Lincoln, for him, etc. William Wintringham, Canon of -Lincoln, 1415, left 200 marks for mortuary masses. Richard Croxton, Canon -of Lincoln, 1383, left 50 for masses for ten years. John of Haddon, Canon -of Lincoln, 1374, left 21 to find two chaplains for two years. Robert of -Austhorpe, Doctor of Laws and Licentiate in Arts, 1372, left 20_s._ for -masses. Stephen of Hoghton, Rector of the Mediety of Lesyngham, 1390, left -20_s._ and two books to the Prior and Convent of Nocton for a perpetual -anniversary. Robert of Lottryngton, Rector of Gosberkyrk, 1391, left 10 -and his portiforium and psalterium to his church, and a bequest for two -chaplains to celebrate for him for a year. Richard Morys, Rector of -Bryngton, 1396, leaves 4 to Mr. William Ynflet, to celebrate for him (A. -Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills"). - -[517] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 158. - -[518] There are chantry chapels in two stories at Hereford and Gloucester -Cathedrals, and Tewkesbury, and two at East Horndon, Essex. - -[519] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 201. - -[520] Baines's "Manchester" (Harland's edition), p. 45. - -[521] "Test. Ebor.," iv. 121. - -[522] See calendar of perpetual obits in St. Paul's Cathedral in appendix -to Milman's "Annals of St. Paul's." - -[523] In the "Sarum Manual" the rules which follow death began with a -_Commendatio Animarum_ [Exequiis] consisting of psalms and prayers for the -dead. The body was then washed and laid on a bier; vespers for the day -were said, followed by the _Vigili Mortuorum_, divided into several -parts, the special vespers and special matins known from their respective -antiphons as the _Placebo_ and _Dirige_. The body was then carried in -procession to church. There the _Missa Mortuorum_ was said, and after it -came the _Inhumatio defuncti_. - -[524] See p. 348. - -[525] Hingeston-Randolph, "Stafford's Register," p. 399. - -[526] Wodderspoon, "Ipswich," p. 392. - -[527] Ibid., p. 399. - -[528] It was a very humble imitation of the primitive custom of giving a -funeral feast. - -[529] Ibid., p. 393. - -[530] "Essex Arch. Trans.," vol. i. part iii. p. 150 (New Series). - -[531] "Diocese of Bath and Wells," p. 136, S.P.C.K. - -[532] "Diocesan Histories, Lincoln," p. 81, S.P.C.K. - -[533] Ibid., p. 197. - -[534] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 209. - -[535] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 164. - -[536] Ibid., p. 107. - -[537] Ibid., p. 158. - -[538] Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 185. - -[539] Ibid., p. 210. - -[540] Hamo, Bishop of Rochester, in 1341 endowed a chantry for himself in -the cathedral, the prior and convent engaging to give the chantry priest -lodging and the food of a monk and 24_s._ yearly. - -[541] Archbishop Sudbury, 1378, ordered Annuellers to be content with 7 -marks, and others who serve cure of souls with 8 marks, or diet and 4 -marks. - -[542] This is the same year as the statute quoted above; and is clearly -the ecclesiastical counterpart of that civic legislation. - -[543] The Black Death, in 1348. - -[544] In 1391, the dean and chapter made a regulation that henceforth no -beneficed person should hold a chantry in St. Paul's excepting their own -minor canons. - -[545] In 1323, J. de Taunton, priest and vicar in the Church of Wells, was -collated by the Bishop to "annuate" in the Church of St. Mary, Wells, to -celebrate for the soul of F. de Bullen (?) and all faithful souls (Rev. T. -Hugo's "Extracts," p. 88). In the register of Montacute, Bishop of Ely, -1337, licence was given to Mr. Nicho. de Canterbury, _stare in obsequiis_ -of J. de Polleyne for two years, and this at the instance of Dnus. John de -Polleyne. The same year licence was given to Dnus. Richard Rupel, Rector -of the Church of Carlton _quod possit stare in obsequiis_ of Dni. Paris -Lewen for two years. - -[546] The chantry priests of London, having been summoned by the bishop in -1532, and desired to contribute towards the 100,000 demanded by King -Henry VIII. of the clergy, made such a stir that the bishop dismissed them -for the time, and afterwards had some arrested and imprisoned (Stow's -"Chronicle," p. 559). - -[547] Enough. - -[548] Also at Bromley. See Whitaker's "Whalley." - -[549] Page's "Yorkshire Chantries." - -[550] "Lay Folks' Mass Book." - -[551] "York Fabric Rolls." - -[552] In the "Calendar of Chantries" there are forty-two such schools -recorded. - -[553] Whitaker's "History of Whalley," ii. 322. - -[554] Whitaker, "Craven," p. 147. - -[555] Ibid., p. 326. - -[556] Whitaker, "Whalley," p. 326. - -[557] Whitaker, "Whalley," p. 155. - -[558] Whitaker, "Craven," p. 438. - -[559] For example, the chantry chapel of Billericay, Essex, continued in -this condition until Bishop Blomfield induced the trustees to surrender -the chapel and the right of presentation to it to the bishop, on condition -of a stipend of 120 being settled upon it from Queen Anne's Bounty Fund. - -[560] The rule of the Ludlow Gild was that, "if any of the brethren or -sisters be brought to such want that they have not enough to live upon, -then, once, twice, thrice, but not a fourth time, as much help shall be -given them, out of the goods of the gild, as the rectors and stewards, -having regard to their deserts, and to the means of the gild, shall -order.... If any brother or sister be wrongfully cast into prison, the -gild shall do its utmost, and spend money, to get him out.... If any fall -into grievous sickness, they shall be helped, both as to their bodily -needs and other wants, out of the common fund of the gild, until their -health is renewed as before. If any one becomes a leper, or blind, or -maimed, or smitten with any incurable disorder (which God forbid), we will -that the goods of the gild shall be largely bestowed on him.... If any -good girl of the gild cannot have the means found her by her father, -either to go into a religious house or to marry, whichever she wishes to -do, friendly and right help shall be given her out of our means, and our -common chest, towards enabling her do whichever of the two she wishes." -The rules of one of the gilds in Hull enact that "inasmuch as the gild was -founded to cherish kindness and love, the alderman, steward, and two -helpmen in case of a quarrel between two members shall deal with the -matter, and shall earnestly strive to make them agree together without any -suit or delay, and so that no damage either to body or goods shall in any -wise happen through the quarrel." If the officials neglect to interpose -their good offices, they are fined four pounds of wax among them; and if -the disputants will not listen to them, they shall pay four pounds of wax; -and, finally, all the members of the gild shall be summoned to meet, and -the difficulty shall be referred to them for settlement. - -[561] By the rules of the Lancaster Gild, "on the death of a member of the -gild all the brethren then in the town shall come to placebo and dirge, if -summoned by the bellman, or pay 2_d._" "All shall go to the mass held for -a dead brother or sister; each brother or sister so dying shall have at -the mass on the day of burial six torches and eighteen wax-lights, and at -other services two torches and four wax-lights." "If any of the gild die -outside Lancaster, within twenty miles, twelve brethren shall wind and -deck the body at the cost of the gild, and if the brother or sister so -dying wished to be buried where he died, the same twelve shall see that he -has fitting burial there where he died." Some of the gilds had a hearse -and embroidered pall which were used at funerals of members of the gild, -and sometimes let out to others. - -[562] A return was made into Chancery, in the twelfth year of Richard II. -(1387), of the original objects, endowments, and extent of gilds -generally, and the masters and wardens; the records of more than 500 exist -and form the substance of Toulmin Smith's book on English gilds. - -[563] Page's "Yorkshire Chantries," p. 83. - -[564] See chap. xxiv. p. 417. - -[565] S.P.C.K., "Worcester Diocese," p. 138. - -[566] From the "Valor Eccl.," iii. 315, we learn that at Thetford, in -Norfolk, there was a Gild of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a certain chapel -in the Bayly end, with a master whose income was 6 13_s._ 4_d._, two -priests with 5 6_s._ 8_d._ each, and two clerks with 20_s._ each. - -From the same source we learn that at Boston, Lincolnshire, there were -three gilds, one of the Blessed Virgin Mary with five chaplains, whose -revenues amounted to 24 a year; one of Corpus Christi with six chaplains, -income 32; and one of St. Peter with two chaplains, income 10 13_s._ -4_d._ - -Alice Lowys, widow of Lowys of Boston, merchant, 1350, leaves bequests to -the High Altar, and to the Gilds of Blessed Mary, St. Katharine, St. -George, etc. ("Early Lincoln Wills," p. 175). - -Isabella Longland, widow, of Henley-upon-Thames, 1527, leaves "to the hye -aulter of Henley Church 20_d._, and hye aulter of our Ladye a diapur cloth -of iij elles and more. To the Fraternity of Jesus in the said church, -4_s._; to the Gilde of our blessed lady of Boston in the dioces of -Lincoln, whereof I am suster, to have masses of _Scala celi_ and _dirge_ -shortly after my departing, 6_s._ 8_d._; to the Brotherhood of St. George -and St. Christopher of York for ditto, 6_s._ 8_d._ To my sone my Lorde of -Lincoln, a standing cup of silver and gilt with a kever, having the image -of St. Mighell, and a droigon in the toppe, and borne with iij aungells in -the foote.... To my prestes for to bere me to the churche ev'y preste, -8_d._ She was the mother of John Longland, Bishop of Lincoln, 1521-1547" -(Ibid., p. 208). - -[567] "Valor Eccl.," iii. 237. - -[568] Page 468. - -[569] Thus Stamford had in All Saints' Church the Gild of All Saints, the -Gild of St. John and St. Julian, the Gild of Corpus Christi, and Philip's -chantry. In St. Mary's Church an endowment for stipendiaries and a -chantry; in St. Stephen's Church a chapter; in St. Clement's Church a -gild. - -[570] Wm. Trenourth of St. Cleer, Cornwall, 1400, leaves to the store of -St. Cleer, three sheep; to the store of St. Mary in St. Cleer Church, two -sheep; to the store of Holy Cross therein, one sheep, and the same to the -store of St. James (Hingeston-Randolph, "Stafford's Register," p. 380). - -[571] W. Haselbeche, clark, 1504, leaves to the Fraternity of St. Peter, -holden within the Church of Littlebury, Essex, his best brass pot and a -dozen of great platters marked with C. - -To the Fraternity of Our Lady's Assumption in the Church of Haddestoo, in -Norfolk, toward the buying and building of a hall for the Fraternity, -26_s._ 8_d._ ("Essex Arch. Trans." (New Series), vol. i. p. 174). - -In an inventory of the goods at Chich St. Osyth Church, 6 Ed. VI., occurs: -"There be the ymplements sometime belonging to the Trinity Gylde. In the -hands of the churchwardens--brasse pott, weighing 3 c. 4 li.; brass pott, -weying 35 li. (much obliterated by decay), ... spitts remaining; dozen of -peuter, waying 31 li. And also in the hands of Sir J. Harwy, church pryst, -one garnyshe of peuter" (Ibid., p. 28). - -[572] This is illustrated in two charming pictures of the end of the -fifteenth century in the Royal MS. 19 cviii. cap., folios 3 and 90, where -the town with its wall, round towers, moat and bridge, and one great -church dominating the houses, rises out of the park-like meadows with a -castle on a neighbouring height. In the lower margin of the late -fourteenth-century MS. (Royal 13 A iii.) the scribe has given a number of -sketches, very neatly executed, of towns mentioned in his narrative. They -are probably for the most part fancy sketches, but they serve to show that -the idea of a town in the mind of a medival draughtsman was a wall and -gates with a grove of towers and spires soaring above. See folios 27, 32, -33, 34, etc., and especially "London," folio 56. An interesting view of a -town with a great church and several smaller towers and spires appearing -over the walls is in Lydgate's "Siege of Thebes," 18 D. 11, folio 148. - -[573] It seems likely that sometimes the same proprietor built more than -one church for his tenants, _e.g._ Abbot Ursin is said to have built three -churches for his burgh of St. Alban (see p. 513). The Abbey of St. Edmund -seems to have built two within a very short period (see p. 511). At -Lincoln, a lay proprietor, Colsuen, shortly after the Conquest, built -thirty-six houses and two churches on a piece of waste ground outside the -city given to him by the king ("Domesday Book"). - -[574] References to the plan of NORWICH. Places within the city indicated -by letters-- - - A. St. Leonard's. - B. Bishop's Gate. - C. The Cathedral Church. - D. St. Martin's at the Pallis Gale. - E. St. Bathold's. - F. St. Clement's. - G. St. Augustine's. - H. St. Martin's at the Oke. - I. The Castle. - K. St. Peter's Permantigate. - L. St. Martin's on the Hill. - M. St. John's on the Hill. - N. St. Michael's. - O. St. John's at the Gate. - P. St. Stephen's. - Q. The Market Place. - R. St. Gyles's Gate. - S. Hell Gate. - T. St. Benet's Gate. - V. St. Stephen's Gate. - W. Pockethorpe Gate. - X. The New Milles. - Y. Chapell in the Field. - Z. St. Martin's Gate. - -[575] "Historic Towns: London." Rev. W. I. Loftie. - -[576] "Stowe's Survey of London," vol. ii. p. 26 (by Strype, A.D. 1720). - -[577] "It may be that the parochial system was not fully organized in -Exeter till the time of the Ordinance (of 1222), and that while some of -the chapels were suppressed, others were now raised to the rank of parish -churches" (E. A. Freeman, "Historic Towns": Exeter). - -[578] References to the Plan of EXETER. Places of the city indicated by -figures-- - - 1. East Gates. - 2. St. Lawrence. - 3. The Castle. - 4. Corrylane. - 5. St. Ione Cross. - 6. St. Stephen's. - 7. Bedford House. - 8. St. Peter's. - 9. Bishop's Pallace. - 10. Palace Gate. - 11. Trinity. - 12. Bear Gate. - 13. St. Marye's. - 14. Churchyard. - 15. St. Petroke's. - 16. High Stret. - 17. Guild Hall. - 18. Alhallowes. - 19. Goldsmith Stret. - 20. St. Paule. - 21. Paule Stret. - 22. St. Pancres. - 23. Waterbury Stret. - 24. North Gate. - 25. Northgate Stret. - 26. St. Keran's. - 27. Cooke Row. - 28. Bell Hill. - 29. Southgate Stret. - 30. South Gate. - 31. Grenny Stret. - 32. St. Gregorie's. - 33. Milk Lane. - 34. The Shambles. - 35. St. Olaves. - 36. St. Mary Arche. - 37. Archer Lane. - 38. St. Nicholas. - 39. St. John's. - 40. Friar Waye. - 41. Little Britaine. - 42. Alhallowes. - 43. St. Marie's Steps. - 44. West Gate. - 45. Smithen Stret. - 46. Idle Lane. - 47. Postern Stret. - 48. Racke Lane. - -[579] Its thirteenth century hall and fourteenth century dormitory still -exist. - -[580] The existing fabric was built early in the second half of the -fifteenth century, at the joint cost of the Abbot of Glastonbury, to whom -the benefice belonged, and of the parishioners; John Shipward, the mayor, -adding the handsome tower. - -[581] On the suppression of the religious houses, the fine church of the -Austin Canons supplied the Cathedral Church of the new diocese of -Bristol--now happily restored to the dignity and usefulness of a separate -see. - -[582] References to the plan of BRISTOL. Places of the city indicated by -letters-- - - A. Great St. Augustine. - B. Little St. Augustine. - C. The Gaunt. - D. St. Michael. - E. St. James. - F. Froom Gate. - G. St. John's. - H. St. Lawrence. - I. St. Stephen's. - K. St. Leonard. - L. St. Warburg's. - M. Christ Church. - N. Allhallowes. - O. St. Mary Port. - P. St. Peter's. - Q. St. Phillip. - R. The Castle. - S. St. Nicholas. - T. St. Thomas. - V. The Temple. - W. Ratcliff Gate. - X. Temple Gate. - Y. Newgate. - -[583] J. Raine, "Historic Towns": York. - -[584] Ellis's "Introd. to Domesday Book," ii. p. 491. - -[585] Ellis's "Introd. to Domesday Book," ii. p. 491. - -[586] A very complete inventory of the possessions of this Priory taken -room by room, at the time of the suppression, is printed in J. -Wodderspoon's "Ipswich," p. 314. - -[587] See an account of this chantry at p. 444. - -[588] There is a diagram of it, with the chapel at the west end, in the -_Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1751, p. 296. - -[589] Vol. iii. p. 147. At p. 145 the sum is given as 23. - -[590] In 1233 the convent obtained a prohibition from the pope to erect an -oratory or chapel within a Roman mile of their altar ("Papal Letters," -vol. i. p. 137, Rolls Series). - -[591] When the Countess of Clare, the lady of one of the manors at -Walsingham, gave the Franciscans a site for a house here, in 21 Henry II., -the prior and convent petitioned her against the foundation, but without -success. - -[592] See Wingham and Wye in Appendix III., pp. 564, 566. - -[593] Ecclia de Roderham divisa est, Pars Abbis de Clervall, 16 13_s._ -4_d._; vicar ejusdem ptis, 5; pars Rogeri cum vicar ejusdem partis, 21 -13_s._ 4_d._; Pens' Prioris de Lewes in eadem eccles de Roderham, 1 6_s._ -8_d._ ("Taxatio," p. 300). - -[594] The example set by the cathedrals for gathering the cantarists into -a college, was followed by private benefactors in several towns, _e.g._ -Newark, p. 525. - -[595] At the time of the "Taxatio," the portion of the prior of Worksop in -the Church of Sheffield was worth 10 ("Taxatio," p. 299). - -[596] The Augmentation Commissioners of Ed. VI. return that the Parish of -Newnham, Gloucestershire, where are houselying people, ciijx, has certain -lands, tenements, and rents given to the parishioners to bestow the -profits according to their discretion, "in reparying the pmisses, sometyme -in mendyng of high weyes and bridgs within the same pshe; and sometymes, -and of late, in findinge a prieste ther to serve for the soles of the -givers and founders, and for cten Xtn works, worth 14 0_s._ 1_d._ -Ornament, plate, and juellry to the same, none, r value x_s._" (Notes on -the Borough and Manor of Newnham.--R. I. Kerr, Gloucester, "Transactions," -1893). - -[597] The castle chapel, dedicated to St. Philip and James, "was anciently -given to the mother church" of Newark. - -[598] A suburb outside the borough, called the North End, had a Hospital -of St. Leonard, and was a separate parish. - -[599] Dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen. - -[600] p. 403. - -[601] It was probable that he was the chaplain of the Castle Chapel. - -[602] An effigy of Alan Fleming, merchant, who died in 1361, engraved, -with canopy and ornamental work, on a great sheet of brass, is one of the -finest of the "Flemish brasses," and one of the treasures of the church. -It is engraved in Waller's and in Boutell's "Monumental Brasses." - -[603] Thoroton records the epitaph of R. Browne, armiger, late Alderman of -the Gild of Holy Trinity of this church, and Constable of the Castle, and -principal seneschal of the liberty of the town and receiver for Thomas -Wolsey, Cardinal of York, and for the Lord John Longland, Bishop of -Lincoln, and for the vice-count of the Counties of Notts and Derby, who -died 1532. - -[604] See p. 519. - -[605] See p. 125. - -[606] Thoroton gives the inscription on the tomb of Robert Kirkclaye, the -first master of the Long School for forty-two years, who died in 1570 (?). - -[607] See an account of them in "Scenes and Characters of the Middle -Ages." Virtue and Co. - -[608] "Valor," v. p. 157. - -[609] Ibid., ii. p. 54. - -[610] Matthew Paris (under 1250 A.D.) relates a case in which Bishop -Grostete deprived a clerk accused of incontinency; the clerk refused to -give up his benefice; the bishop excommunicated him; at the end of forty -days of grace, the clerk still refusing to submit, the bishop sent word to -the sheriff to take and imprison him as contumacious; the sheriff, being a -great friend of the clerk and no friend of the bishop, delayed or refused; -the bishop thereupon excommunicated the sheriff; he complained to the -king; the king applied to the pope, and obtained an order restraining the -bishop (M. Paris, v. 109). - -[611] "Greenfield's Register," quoted in _Church Times_, March 11, 1898. - -[612] "Grostete's Letters," Rolls Series, p. 48. - -[613] S.P.C.K., "Lichfield," p. 178. - -[614] "Durham Ecclesiastical Proceedings," p. 47. - -[615] There is a picture of the confession of clerics in the MS. 6 E. VII. -f. 506 _verso_. - -[616] S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 224. - -[617] Matthew Paris, v. 223. - -[618] S.P.C.K., "Hereford," p. 87. - -[619] "Papal Letters," vol. iii. p. 142, Rolls Series. - -[620] "Gray's Register," York, p. 269. - -[621] S.P.C.K., "Diocesan Histories: Bath and Wells," p. 129. - -[622] Whitaker, "Craven," p. 149. - -[623] S.P.C.K., "Diocesan History of Rochester," p. 189. - -[624] Ibid., p. 231. - -[625] S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 231. - -[626] "Durham Eccl. Proceedings," p. 64. - -[627] "Durham Eccl. Proceedings," Surtees Society, p. 107. - -[628] S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 224. - -[629] S.P.C.K., "Diocesan Histories: Bath and Wells," p. 128. We are -reminded of the story told by Sismondi (chap. xlix.), that when Pope Urban -V., in 1369, sent two legates with a bull of excommunication to Bernabo -Visconti, Duke of Milan, that strong-willed prince compelled the legates -to eat the documents, parchment, leaden seals, silk cord, and all. So -Walter de Clifford, in 1250, compelled a royal messenger to eat the -letters he brought, with the seal (Matthew Paris, ii. 324). The writ of -summons was sometimes a small slip of parchment, or perhaps paper, and the -seal a thin layer of beeswax covered with paper, so that the story is not -impossible. There are other instances on record in which the summoner was -compelled by violence to destroy his writ--in what manner is not -stated--instead of serving it ("Calendar of Entries in Papal Registers," -A.D. 1247-48, pp. 239, 243). - -[630] The castigation by the schoolmaster of a scholar hoisted on a man's -back after the hardly obsolete fashion of our public schools is depicted -in the same MS., 6 E. VI., at f. 214, under the heading "_Castigatio_;" -and again in the second volume of the work (6 E. VII.), at f. 444, under -the heading "_Master_;" as if the word "castigatio" naturally suggested -"schoolboy," and the primary function of a "master" were to use the rod. - -[631] "Ecclesiastical Proceedings from the Courts of Durham," p. 20. - -[632] Ibid., p. 21. - -[633] S.P.C.K., "Diocese of Lichfield," p. 171. See other examples in -"Diocesan Histories of Bath and Wells," p. 130. - -[634] There are forms of it in "The York Manual," Rev. J. Raine, Surtees -Society, pp. 86, 119. - -[635] See "The Repression of Overmuch Blaming of the Clergy," by Reginald -Pecock, Bishop of Chichester. Rolls Series. - -[636] The host asks him-- - - "Sire preest, quod he, art thou a vicary, - Or art thou a parson? say soth by thy fay," - -but the poet does not, by answering the question, narrow the class -represented. - -[637] Sparing nor proud. - -[638] Rebuke. - -[639] Scrupulous. - -[640] "Camden Society," p. 23. - -[641] Whitaker's "Whalley," p. 58. - -[642] It appears, by a subsequent document, that he had a domestic oratory -in his Hall, which stood at the east end of the churchyard. - -[643] United by Act of Parliament. c. 1734. - -[644] Morant says that a chantry was founded here in 1328. - -[645] Appropriated to Abbey of Stratford Langthorne. - -[646] The chantry was founded at and for the little town of Billericay, -1-1/2 miles from the parish church. - -[647] The advowson belonged to Bilegh Abbey. Morant says (i. p. 247) West -Leigh was a parish held at the Conquest by the canons of St. Paul's -adjoining this. In 1432 the abbey and the canons agreed to unite the two -parishes, the abbey taking two turns of presentation and the canons one. - -[648] Among the smaller benefices (p. 24); the greater part of their -income having been apportioned to the Religious Houses. - -[649] Built by the family of Barringtone Barnton on their estate here. - -[650] Rectory belonged to Prittlewell Priory. - -[651] "Taxatio," pp. 1, 2. - -[652] "Valor," i. pp 36, 92. - -[653] Elder brother of the Archbishop, Archdeacon of Canterbury, "Valor," -i. p. 32. - -[654] William Warham, nephew of Archbishop Warham, late Archdeacon of -Canterbury, "Valor," i. p. 32. - -[655] In Saxon times the manor belonged to a family named Liveing; soon -after the Conquest it was in the possession of a family named Beke. - -[656] "Revolving in his mind God's wonderful and great mercies to him in -leading him and preferring him to such riches and eminence in Church and -State, and in preserving him from danger both by sea and land, and out of -gratitude to the memory of his parents and friends, at whose charge he was -educated and brought to that pitch of honour, he thought he could not pay -a more grateful acknowledgment than to set apart a very considerable part -of his estate in this manner."--Preface to his Statutes for his College, -Hasted's "Kent," iii. 173. - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_. - -Superscripted characters are indicated by {superscript}. - -The original text contains letters with diacritical marks that are not -represented in this text version. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Parish Priests and Their People in the -Middle Ages in England, by Edward L. 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Cutts—A Project Gutenberg eBook @@ -59,46 +59,7 @@ </style> </head> <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Parish Priests and Their People in the -Middle Ages in England, by Edward L. Cutts - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Parish Priests and Their People in the Middle Ages in England - -Author: Edward L. Cutts - -Release Date: February 23, 2013 [EBook #42180] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARISH PRIESTS IN MIDDLE AGES *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42180 ***</div> <p class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /></p> @@ -19396,384 +19357,7 @@ a more grateful acknowledgment than to set apart a very considerable part of his estate in this manner.”—Preface to his Statutes for his College, Hasted’s “Kent,” iii. 173.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Parish Priests and Their People in the -Middle Ages in England, by Edward L. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Parish Priests and Their People in the Middle Ages in England - -Author: Edward L. Cutts - -Release Date: February 23, 2013 [EBook #42180] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARISH PRIESTS IN MIDDLE AGES *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive.) - - - - - - - - - -PARISH PRIESTS AND THEIR PEOPLE. - - - - -[Illustration: FROM THE XV. CENT. MS., EGERTON 2019, f. 142.] - - - - - PARISH PRIESTS AND THEIR PEOPLE - IN THE MIDDLE AGES IN ENGLAND. - - - BY THE REV. EDWARD L. CUTTS, D.D., - AUTHOR OF "TURNING POINTS OF ENGLISH CHURCH HISTORY," - "A DICTIONARY OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND," - "A HANDY BOOK OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND," ETC. - - - PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OE THE TRACT COMMITTEE. - - - LONDON: - SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. - NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C. - 43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C. - BRIGHTON: 129, NORTH STREET. - NEW YORK: E & J. B. YOUNG AND CO. - 1898. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -A great mass of material has of late years been brought within reach of -the student, bearing upon the history of the religious life and customs of -the English people during the period from their conversion, in the sixth -and seventh centuries, down to the Reformation of the Church of England in -the sixteenth century; but this material is still to be found only in -great libraries, and is therefore hardly within reach of the general -reader. - -The following chapters contain the results of some study of the subject -among the treasures of the library of the British Museum; much of those -results, it is believed, will be new, and all, it is hoped, useful, to the -large number of general readers who happily, in these days, take an -intelligent interest in English Church history. - -The book might have been made shorter and lighter by giving fewer extracts -from the original documents; but much of the history is new, and it -seemed desirable to support it by sufficient evidence. The extracts have -been, as far as possible, so chosen that each shall give some additional -incidental touch to the filling up of the general picture. - -The photographic reproductions of illuminations from MSS. of various -dates, illustrating ecclesiastical ceremonies and clerical costumes, are -enough in themselves to give a certain value to the book which contains -and describes them. - -The writer is bound to make grateful acknowledgment of his obligations to -the Bishop of Oxford, who, amidst his incessant occupations, was so kind -to an old friend as to read through the rough proof of the book, pointing -out some _corrigenda_, making some suggestions, and indicating some -additional sources of information; all which, while it leaves the book the -better for what the bishop has done for it, does not make him responsible -for its remaining imperfections. - -The writer has also to express his thanks to the Rev. Professor Skeat, -Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge, and to the Rev. Dr. Cunningham, -formerly Professor of Economic Science, K.C.L., for their kind replies to -inquiries on matters on which they are authorities; and to some others who -kindly looked over portions of the book dealing with matters of which they -have special knowledge. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER I. OUR HEATHEN FOREFATHERS. - - The land only partially reclaimed, 1--The Anglo-Saxon conquest, - 2--Civil constitution, 4--Religion, 7--Structural temples, 8--Priests, - 11. - -CHAPTER II. THE CONVERSION OF THE ENGLISH. - - Conversion of the heptarchic kingdoms, 14--Its method, - 16--Illustrations from the history of Jutland, Norway, etc., 17--The - cathedral centres, 20--Details of mission work, 21--Mission stations, - 24. - -CHAPTER III. THE MONASTIC PHASE OF THE CHURCH. - - Multiplication of monasteries, 28: in Kent, 29; Northumbria, 29; East - Anglia, 31; Wessex, 31; Mercia, 31--List of other Saxon monasteries, - 33--Constitution of the religious houses, 35--Their destruction by the - Danes, 37--Rebuilding in the reigns of Edgar and Canute, 37. - -CHAPTER IV. DIOCESAN AND PAROCHIAL ORGANIZATION. - - Character of the new converts, 38--Coming of Archbishop Theodore, - 40--Union of the Heptarchic Churches, 41--Subdivision of dioceses, - 41--Introduction of the parochial system, 43--Northumbria made a - second province, 49--Multiplication of parishes, 50--Different classes - of churches, 53--Number of parishes at the Norman Conquest, 54. - -CHAPTER V. THE SAXON CLERGY. - - Laws of the heptarchic kingdoms: of Ethelbert, 57; of Ine, 57; of - Wihtred, 57--Council of Clovesho (747), 60--Laws of Alfred, 65; of - Athelstan, 66--Canons of Edgar, 66--Laws of Ethelred, 72--Canons of - Elfric, 74--Privilege of sanctuary, 75--Tithe and other payments, - 78--Observance of Sunday and holy days, 79--Slavery, 81--Manumission, - 81. - -CHAPTER VI. THE NORMAN CONQUEST. - - Foreign bishops and abbots introduced, 84--Parochial clergy - undisturbed, 85--Papal supremacy, 85--Separation of civil and - ecclesiastical Courts, 86--Norman cathedrals and churches, 87--Revival - of monasticism, 90--Appropriation of parochial benefices, 91. - -CHAPTER VII. THE FOUNDATION OF VICARAGES. - - Mode of appropriation of parishes, 95--Evil results, 97--Ordination of - vicarages, 98--Its conditions, 99--Not always fulfilled, 108--Abuses, - 109. - -CHAPTER VIII. PAROCHIAL CHAPELS. - - Chapels-of-ease for hamlets, 110--Some of them elevated into churches, - 110--Rights of mother churches safeguarded, 121--Free chapels, 123. - -CHAPTER IX. THE PARISH PRIEST--HIS BIRTH AND EDUCATION. - - Saxon clergy largely taken from the higher classes, 127--The career - opened up by the Church to all classes, 129; even to serfs, - 130--Education of the clergy, 131--The Universities, 136--Schools of - thought, 136--The scholastic theology, 137--The contemplative, - 138--Oxford: its colleges, 140--The students, 141--Ordination, - 144--Institution, 146. - -CHAPTER X. PARSONAGE HOUSES. - - Like lay houses, 149--Examples at West Dean and Alfriston, Sussex, - 152--Descriptions of: at Kelvedon, 154; Kingston-on-Thames, Bulmer, - Ingrave, 155; Ingatestone, 156; Little Bromley, North Benfleet, 157; - West Hanningfield, 158--Hospitality, 158--Smaller houses, - 160--Dilapidations, 162. - -CHAPTER XI. FURNITURE AND DRESS. - - Sumptuary laws, 164--Disregard of them, 167--Contemporary pictures, - 169--Extracts from wills, 172--Introduction of sober colours, - 174--Wills, 175. - -CHAPTER XII. FABRIC AND FURNITURE OF CHURCHES, AND OFFICIAL VESTMENTS. - - Grandeur of the churches compared with domestic buildings, - 184--Furniture of churches, 187, 190--List of necessary things, - 189--Clerical vestments: pallium, chasuble, 191; stole, maniple, - amice, dalmatic, 192; cope, surplice, 193; amyss, 194--Fanciful - symbolism, 196; a bishop in "full canonicals," 198. - -CHAPTER XIII. THE PUBLIC SERVICES IN CHURCH. - - Matins, mass, and evensong, 200--Sunday attendance, 201--Communion, - 200--Laxity of practice, 204--Week-day services, 205--The Bidding - Prayer, 207--Bede Roll, 211--Chantry services, 212. - -CHAPTER XIV. PREACHING AND TEACHING. - - Not neglected, 214--Manuals of teaching, 214; Archbishop Peckham's, - 216--Helps for preachers, 223--Analysis of sin, 226; _Arbor Virtutum_, - 229; _Arbor Viciorum_, 230--Types and antitypes, 231. - -CHAPTER XV. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARISH PRIESTS. - - Analysis of a book of that title by John Myrk, 232--The personal - character and conduct which befit a priest, 233--A parish priest's - duties, 234--Non-communicating attendance at Holy Communion, 235, - _note_--The "holy loaf," 235--Behaviour of the people in church, - 236--The people's way of joining in the mass, 236--Behaviour in - churchyard, 238--Visitation of the sick, 239. - -CHAPTER XVI. POPULAR RELIGION. - - Education more common than is supposed, 241--Books for the laity in - French and English, 242--Creed and Vision of "Piers Plowman," the - tracts of Richard of Hampole and Wiclif, 242--"Lay Folks' Mass-book," - 243--Primers, 249--Religious poetry: Caedmon, 250; "The Love of Christ - for Man's Soul," 255; "The Complaint of Christ," 256. - -CHAPTER XVII. THE CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY. - - Object of the obligation, 258--Opposition to it, 259--Introduced late - in the Saxon period, 260--Endeavour to enforce it in Norman and later - times, 261--Evasion of the canons, 268--Legal complications, - 270--Popular view, 271--Disabilities of sons of the clergy, - 273--Dispensations for it, 275. - -CHAPTER XVIII. VISITATION ARTICLES AND RETURNS. - - Visitation of parishes, 279--Visitation questions, 280--Examples from - returns to the questions, 285--Popular estimation of the clergy, 289. - -CHAPTER XIX. PROVISION FOR OLD AGE. - - Assistant chaplain, 290--Coadjutor assigned, 291--A leprous vicar, - 294--Retirement on a pension, 295--A retiring vicar builds for himself - a "reclusorium" in the churchyard, 295--Parish chaplain retires on a - pension, 296--Death and burial, 296. - -CHAPTER XX. THE PARISH CLERK. - - Ancient office, 298--Its duties, 299--Stipend, 301--Sometimes students - for orders, 302--Gilds of parish clerks, 303--Chaucer's parish clerk, - 304. - -CHAPTER XXI. CUSTOMS. - - Sanctuary for persons, 306; and property, 307--Belonged to some - persons, 308--Pilgrimage, 308--Special ceremonies, 311--Lights, - 311--Miracles and passion plays, 315--Fairs, markets, and sports in - the churchyard, 316--Church ales, 317. - -CHAPTER XXII. ABUSES. - - Papal invasions of the rights of patronage, 319--The intrusion of - foreigners into benefices, 320--Abuse of patronage by the Crown, - 321--Pluralities, 323--Farming of benefices, 324--Holding of benefices - by men in minor orders, 324--Absenteeism, 330--Serfdom, 332. - -CHAPTER XXIII. THE CATHEDRAL. - - Served by secular canons, 334--Organization of its clerical staff, - 334--The dignitaries, 335--The dean and chapter, 335--Monastic - cathedral, 336--Archdeacons, 337--Synods and visitations, 337--Lincoln - Cathedral, 338--Bishop's palace, 339--The close, 340--Residentiary - houses, 341--Vicars' court, 341--Chantries, 342--Chapter house, - 342--Common room, 344--The first dean and canons, 343--Revenues of - the bishop, 344; of the dean and dignitaries, 345; of the - prebendaries, 350; of the archdeacons, 353; of the vicars choral, 354; - of the chantry priests, 355; of the choristers, 356--Lay officers, - 356--Chichester Cathedral, 359--Revenues of bishop, dean, dignitaries, - prebendaries, archdeacons, and vicars choral, 360-362--Prince bishops, - 363. - -CHAPTER XXIV. MONKS AND FRIARS. - - Character of the monks, 365--Place of the monasteries in social life, - 366--Influence upon the parishes, 369--Friars, their origin; - organization, 370--Work, 373--Rivalry with parish clergy, - 374--Character, 377--Faults of the system, 378. - -CHAPTER XXV. THE "TAXATIO" OF POPE NICHOLAS IV. - - Origin of firstfruits and tenths, 380--Taxation of a specimen deanery, - 381--Number of parishes, 384--Value of parochial benefices, - 386--Number of clergy, 389. - -CHAPTER XXVI. THE "VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS" OF HENRY VIII. - - Number of parishes, 394--Income, 395--Sources of income, - 397--Comparative value of money in 1292, 1534, and 1890, - 404--Economical status of parochial clergy, 406. - -CHAPTER XXVII. DOMESTIC CHAPELS. - - Early existence, 408--Saxon, 409--Norman, 409--Edwardian, 410--Later, - 411. - -CHAPTER XXVIII. THE CHANTRY. - - Characteristic work of the centuries, 438--Definition of a chantry, - 438--"Brotherhood" of the religious houses, 439--A chantry a kind of - monument, 441--Began in thirteenth century, 442--Their distribution - over the country, 443--Foundation deed of Daundy's chantry, - 444--Chantry of the Black Prince, 446--Burghersh chantry, 447--Chantry - of Richard III., 447; of Henry VII., 447--Parochial benefices - appropriated to chantries, 449--Nomination to, 451--Chantry chapels - within the church, 453; at Winchester, 453; Tewkesbury, 454--Additions - to the fabric of the church, 454--Separate building in the churchyard, - 455--Temporary chantries for a term of years, 457--Mortuary services, - 458--Remuneration of chantry priests, 461--Number of cantarists, - 464--Their character, 465--Hour of their services, 466--Some chantries - were chapels-of-ease, 467--Some were grammar schools, 469. - -CHAPTER XXIX. GILDS. - - Definition, 473--Trade gilds, 475--Religious gilds, 476--For the - augmentation of Divine service, 478--For the maintenance of bridges, - roads, chantries, 478--Services, 479--Social gilds, 482--Methods of - obtaining better services and pastoral care, 483. - -CHAPTER XXX. THE MEDIAEVAL TOWNS. - - Description of, 486--Parochial history of the towns, 489--Peculiar - jurisdictions, the origin of town parishes, 490--Norwich, 490--London, - 492--Exeter, 497--Bristol, 499--York, 503--Ipswich, 506--Burton, - 508--St. Edmund's Bury, 510--St. Albans, 513--Manchester, - 514--Rotherham, 516--Sheffield, 519--Newark, 523--Recluses, - 526--Bridge-chapels, 527--London Bridge, 529. - -CHAPTER XXXI. DISCIPLINE. - - Definition, 531--Exercise of, in Saxon times, 532--Norman and - subsequent times, 533--Examples of, among the clergy, 533, 537--Laity, - 535--Resistance to, pictorial illustrations, 543--General sentences of - excommunication, 544. - -CHAPTER XXXII. RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. - - Schools of thought: progressive, 546; and conservative, 547--Religious - character of the centuries: twelfth, 547; thirteenth, 548; fourteenth, - 549; Chaucer's "Poore parson;" fifteenth, 552. - -APPENDIX I. - - The history of the parish of Whalley, 557. - -APPENDIX II. - - Comparative view of the returns of the "Taxatio," the "Valor," and the - modern "Clergy List" in the two rural deaneries of Barstaple, Essex, - 562; and Brigg, Canterbury, 564. - -APPENDIX III. - - References to pictorial illustrations in MSS. in the British Museum, - 567. - - - - -DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. - - - BURIAL OF THE DEAD _Frontispiece_ - - The illustration taken from a French MS. of the middle of the - fifteenth century [Egerton 2019, f. 142, British Museum] will reward a - careful study. Begin with the two pictures introduced into the broad - ornamental border at the bottom of the page. On the left are a pope, - an emperor, a king, and queen; on the right Death, on a black horse, - hurling his dart at them. - - Go on to the initial D of the Psalm _Dilexi quoniam exaudiet Dominus - vocem_: "I am well pleased that the Lord hath heard the voice of my - complaint." It represents a canon in surplice and canon's fur hood, - giving absolution to a penitent who has been confessing to him (note - the pattern of the hanging at the back of the canon's seat). Next - consider the picture in the middle of the border on the right. It - represents the priest in surplice and stole, with his clerk in albe - kneeling behind him and making the responses, administering the last - Sacrament to the dying person lying on the bed. Next turn to the - picture in the left-hand top corner of a woman in mourning, with an - apron tied about her, arranging the grave-clothes about the corpse, - and about to envelope it in its shroud. In the opposite corner, three - clerks in surplice and cope stand at a lectern singing the Psalms for - the departed; the pall which covers the coffin may be indistinctly - made out, and the great candlesticks with lighted candles on each side - of it. All these scenes lead us up to the principal subject, which is - the burial. The scene is a graveyard (note the grave crosses) - surrounded by a cloister, entered by a gate tower; the gables, - chimneys, and towers of a town are seen over the cloister roof; note - the skulls over the cloister arches, as though the space between the - groining and the timber roof were used as a charnel house. The priest - is asperging the corpse with holy water as the rude sextons lower the - body into the grave. Note that it is not enclosed in a coffin--that - was not used until comparatively recent times. He is assisted by two - other priests, all three vested in surplices and black copes with a - red-and-gold border; the clerk holds the holy-water vessel. Three - mourners in black cloak and hood stand behind. The story is not yet - finished. Above is seen our Lord in an opening through a radiant cloud - which sheds its beams of light over the scene; the departed soul - [de--parted = separated from the body] is mounting towards its Lord - with an attitude and look of rapture; Michael the Archangel is driving - back with the spear of the cross the evil angel disappointed of his - prey. Lastly, study the beautiful border. Is it fanciful to think that - the artist intended the vase of flowers standing upon the green earth - as a symbol of resurrection, and the exquisite scrolls and twining - foliage and many-coloured blossoms which surround the sad scenes of - death, to symbolize the beauty and glory which surround those whom - angels shall wait upon in death, and carry them to Paradise? - - _To face page_ - - ORDINATION OF A PRIEST, LATE 12TH CENTURY 94 - - Gives the Eucharistic vestments of bishop and priest, a priest in cope - and others in albes, the altar and its coverings, and two forms of - chalice. - - ORDINATION OF A DEACON, A.D. 1520 146 - - Gives the vestments of that period. The man in the group behind the - bishop, who is in surplice and hood and "biretta," is probably the - archdeacon. Note the one candle on the altar, the bishop's chair, the - piscina with its cruet, and the triptych. - - (1) AN ARCHDEACON LECTURING A GROUP OF CLERGYMEN ON THEIR SECULAR - HABITS AND WEAPONS, 14TH CENTURY 174 - - He is habited in a red tunic and cap, the clergy in blue tunic and red - hose and red tunic and blue hose. - - (2) AN ARCHDEACON'S VISITATION 174 - - A CLERICAL PROCESSION 190 - - The illustration is taken from a French Pontifical of the 14th century - in the British Museum [Tiberius, B. viii.], and represents part of the - ceremonial of the anointing and crowning of a king of France. We - choose it because it gives in one view several varieties of clerical - costume. There was very little difference between French and English - vestments, _e.g._ the only French characteristic here is that the - bishop's cope is embroidered with fleur-de-lys. On the left of the - picture is the king, and behind him officers of state and courtiers. - An ecclesiastical procession has met him at the door of the Cathedral - of Rheims, and the archbishop, in albe, cope, and mitre, is sprinkling - him with holy water; the clerk bearing the holy-water pot, and the - cross-bearer, and the thurifer swinging his censer, are immediately - behind him. Then come a group of canons. One is clearly shown, and - easily recognized by the peculiar horned hood with its fringe of - "clocks." Lastly are a group of bishops, the most conspicuous bearing - in his hands the ampulla, which contains the holy oil for the - anointing. - - The photograph fails here as in other cases to give the colours which - define the costumes clearly and give brilliancy to the picture. The - king's tunic is crimson, and that of the nobleman behind him blue. The - archbishop has a cope of blue _semee_ with gold fleur-de-lys; the - water-bearer, a surplice so transparent that the red tunic beneath - gives it a pink tinge; the cross-bearer, a blue dalmatic lined with - red over a surplice; the canon a pink cope over a white surplice, and - black hood. The first bishop wears a cope of blue, the second of red, - the third of pink. The background is diapered blue and red with a gold - pattern. The wall of the building is blue with a gold pattern; the - altar-cloth, red and blue with gold embroidery. - - INTERIOR OF A CHURCH AT THE TIME OF MASS 204 - - A SERMON 215 - - The bishop in blue chasuble and white mitre, people in red and blue - tunics, two knights in chain armour, late 13th century. - - (1) BAPTISM BY AFFUSION 233 - - The male sponsor holds the child over the font, while the priest pours - water over its head from a shallow vessel. He wears a long full - surplice, his stole is yellow _semee_ with small crosses and fringed. - The parish clerk stands behind him, 15th century. - - (2) BAPTISM BY IMMERSION 233 - - Here the priest wears an albe apparelled and girded, and an amice, but - no stole; the sitting posture of the child occurs in other - representations, 14th century. - - CONFIRMATION. (From a printed Pontifical, A.D. 1520) 238 - - The bishop wears albe, dalmatic, cope, and mitre, the other clergy - surplice and "biretta." - - (1) PRIEST IN SURPLICE, CARRYING CIBORIUM THROUGH THE STREET TO A - SICK PERSON, PRECEDED BY THE PARISH CLERK WITH TAPER AND BELL 240 - - The ciborium, partly covered with a cloth, as in the illustration, - which the priest carries, is silvered in the original illustration, - and consequently comes out very imperfectly in the photograph. - - (2) PRIEST, ATTENDED BY CLERK, GIVING THE LAST SACRAMENT, 14TH - CENTURY 240 - - BISHOP AND DEACON IN ALBE AND TUNIC, ADMINISTERING HOLY COMMUNION 246 - - Two clerics in surplice hold the housel cloth to catch any of the - sacred elements which might accidentally fall. - - CONFESSION AT THE BEGINNING OF LENT 334 - - The priest in furred cope, the rood veiled; the altar has a red - frontal. The two men are in blue habit. The woman on the right is all - in black; the other, kneeling at a bench on the left, is in red gown - and blue hood. - - MARRIAGE 410 - - It represents the marriage of the Count Waleran de St. Pol with the - sister of Richard, King of England. The count is in a blue robe, the - princess in cloth of gold embroidered with green; the groomsman in - red, the man behind him in blue, the prince in the background in an - ermine cape. The ladies attending the princess wear cloth of gold, - blue, green, etc.; the bishop is vested in a light green cope over an - apparelled rochet, and a white mitre. The bishop (and in other - representations of marriage) takes hold of the wrists of the parties - in joining their hands. - - VESPERS OF THE DEAD 458 - - The mourners in black cloaks are at the east end of the stalls; the - pall over the coffin is red with a gold cross; the hearse has about - eighteen lighted tapers; the ecclesiastics seem to be friars in dark - brown habit (Franciscans). - - MEDIAEVAL NORWICH. (From Braun's "Theatrum") 492 - - MEDIAEVAL EXETER. (From Braun's "Theatrum") 498 - - MEDIAEVAL BRISTOL. (From Braun's "Theatrum") 500 - - KNIGHTS DOING PENANCE AT THE SHRINE OF ST. EDMUND 535 - - The abbot is vested in a gorgeous cope and mitre; one of the monks - behind him also wears a cope over his monk's habit. - -References to other pictorial illustrations in MSS. in the British Museum -are given in Appendix III., p. 567. - - - - -PARISH PRIESTS AND THEIR PEOPLE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -OUR HEATHEN FOREFATHERS. - - -When we have the pleasure of taking our Colonial visitors on railway -journeys across the length and breadth of England, and they see -cornfields, meadows, pastures, copses, succeed one another for mile after -mile, with frequent villages and country houses, what seems especially to -strike and delight them is the thoroughness and finish of the cultivation; -England seems to them, they say, like a succession of gardens, or, rather, -like one great garden. This is the result, we tell them, of two thousand -years of cultivation by an ever-increasing population. - -On the other hand, we are helped to understand what the land was like at -the time of the settlement in it of our Saxon forefathers, by the -descriptions which our Colonial friends give us of their surroundings in -Australia or Africa, where the general face of the country is still in its -primeval state, the settlements of men are dotted sparsely here and there, -the flocks and herds roam over "bush" or "veldt," and only just so much of -the land about the settlements is roughly cultivated as suffices the wants -of the settlers. - -For in England, in those remote times of which we have first to speak, the -land was, for the most part, unreclaimed. If we call to mind that the -English population about the end of the sixth century could only have been -about a million souls--200,000 families--we shall realize how small a -portion of the land they could possibly have occupied. A large proportion -of the country was still primeval forest, there were extensive tracts of -moorland, the low-lying districts were mere and marsh, the mountainous -districts wild and desolate. The country harboured wolf and bear, wild -cattle and swine, beaver and badger, wild cat, fox, and marten, eagle, -hawk, and heron, and other creatures, most of which have entirely -disappeared, though some linger on, interesting survivals, in remote -corners of the land. - -Their possession of the country by the English was the result of recent, -slow and desultory conquest. Independent parties of adventurers from the -country round about the mouth of the Elbe had crossed the German Ocean in -their keels, landed on the coast, or rowed up the rivers, and pushed -their way slowly against a tenacious resistance. Then, when a party of the -invaders had made good their conquest, came its division among the -conquerors. - -Our own history tells us so little of the details of the Anglo-Saxon -conquest, that we have to call in what we know of the manners of their -Teutonic neighbours and Scandinavian relatives to help us to understand -it. The late Sir W. Dasent, in his "Burnt Njal," says that the Norse -Viking, making an invasion with a view not to a mere raid, but to a -permanent settlement, would lay claim to the whole valley drained by the -river up which he had rowed his victorious keels; or, landing on the -coast, would climb some neighbouring height, point out the headlands which -he arbitrarily assigned as his boundaries on the coast, and claim all the -hinterland which he should be able to subdue. The chief would allot -extensive tracts to the subordinate leaders; and the freemen would be -settled, after their native custom of village communities, upon the most -fertile portions of the soil which their swords had helped to win. In the -broad alluvial lands of the river valleys there would be ample space for -several neighbouring townships; in forest clearings or fertile dales the -townships would be scattered at more or less wide intervals. The -unallotted lands belonged to the general community; it was Folk land, and -its allotment from time to time, probably, in theory needed confirmation -by a Folk-mote, but was practically made by the supreme chief. - -Every township possessed a tract of arable land, which was divided by lot -yearly among the families of the freemen; a tract of meadow, which was -reserved for hay, cultivated and harvested by the common labour; a wide -expanse of pasture, into which each family had the right to turn a fixed -number of cattle and sheep; and into the forest, a fixed number of swine -to feed on the acorns, mast, and roots.[1] The people were rude -agriculturists, not manufacturers, not traders, not civilized enough to -profit by the civilization which the Romans had established in the -country; they stormed and sacked the towns, and left them deserted, and -selected only the most fertile spots for occupation. - -It is a subject of dispute among our most learned historians to what -extent the native Britons were slain or retired before the invaders, or to -what extent they were taken as captives, or reappeared from their -fastnesses after the slaughter was over, to be the slaves of the -conquerors. When we first get glimpses of the situation of things after -the conquest, we find that the British language and religion have -disappeared from the Saxon half of the country; and this implies the -disappearance of the great body of the people. The fact of the continuance -of some ancient place-names, chiefly of great natural features, as hills -and rivers, and of a few British words for things for which the Teutons -had no names, would be sufficiently accounted for by the survival of a -very small remnant. - -In their native seats the social condition of these Angle and Saxon -freemen was patriarchal and primitive; they venerated their chiefs as -Woden-born; they elected one of them as their leader in battle; but they -did not obey them as their subjects. On questions of general importance -the chiefs and wise men advised the Folk-mote, and the people said "Aye" -or "No." But their circumstances in their new conquests led to changes. It -was necessary to maintain some sort of permanent military organization not -only for the defence of their new possessions, and the extension of their -conquests against the old inhabitants of the island, but also against the -encroachments of rival tribes of their own countrymen. And a supreme -chief, to whom all paid a kind of religious veneration, who exercised -permanent military authority over lesser chiefs and people, soon became a -king; limited, however, in power by the ancient institutions of the -Council of the wise men, and the assent or dissent of the Folk-mote. - -The several parties of invaders gradually extended their conquests until -they met, and then made treaties or fought battles with one another, -until, finally, by the end of the sixth century, they had organized -themselves into seven independent kingdoms. - -The freemen of each Township managed their own affairs in a town meeting; -a number of neighbouring townships were grouped into what was called by -the Saxons south of the Humber a Hundred, by the Angles north of the -Humber a Wapentake; and each township sent four or five of its freemen to -represent it in the Hundred-mote every three months. Three times a year, -in summer, autumn, and midwinter, a general meeting of the freemen was -held--a Folk-mote--at some central place; to which every township was -required to send so many footmen armed with sword, spear, and shield, and -so many horsemen properly equipped. At these Folk-motes affairs of general -interest were determined, justice was administered by the chief and -priests,[2] and probably it was at these meetings that the great acts of -national worship were celebrated. Except for these periodical meetings, -the scattered townships existed in great isolation. A striking -illustration of this isolation is afforded by laws of Wihtred of Kent and -of Ine of the West Saxons, which enact--or perhaps merely record an -ancient unwritten law--that if any stranger approached a township off the -highway without shouting or sounding a horn to announce his coming, he -might be slain as a thief, and his relatives have no redress. A subsequent -law of Edgar[3] enacts that if he have with him an ox or a dog, with a -bell hanging to his neck, and sounding at every step, that should be taken -as sufficient warning, otherwise he must sound his horn. The local -exclusiveness produced by this isolation, the suspicion and dislike of -strangers, survive to this day in secluded villages in the wilder parts of -the country. - - * * * * * - -These Teutonic tribes were heathen at the time of their coming into the -land. Of their religion and its observances our own historians have given -no detailed account, and few incidental notices. Our names for the days of -the week, Sun-day, Moon-day, Tuisco's-day, Woden's-day, Thor's-day, -Frya's-day, Saeter's-day, make it certain that our Anglo-Saxon ancestors -worshipped the same gods as their Scandinavian neighbours, and probable -that their religion as a whole was similar. Their supreme god was Odin or -Woden, with whom were associated the twelve AEsir and their goddess-wives, -and a multitude of other supernatural beings. In their belief in an -All-father, superior to all the gods and goddesses--we recognize a relic -of an earlier monotheism. They had structural temples, and in connection -with their temples they had idols, priests, altars, and sacrifices. They -believed in the immortality of the soul, in an intermediate state, and a -final heaven and hell. The souls of the brave and good, they believed, -went to Asgard, the abode of the AEsir; there the warriors all day enjoyed -the fierce delight of combat, and in the evening all their wounds healed, -and they spent the night in feasting in Valhalla, the hall of the gods; -the wicked went to Niflheim, a place of pain and terror. But the time -would come when the earth, and sun, and stars, and Valhalla, and the gods, -and giants, and elves, should be consumed in a great and general -conflagration, and then Gimli and Nastrond, the eternal heaven and hell, -should be revealed. Gimli--a new earth adorned with green meadows, where -the fields bring forth without culture, and calamities are unknown; where -there is a palace more shining than the sun, and where religious and -well-minded men shall abide for ever; Nastrond--a place full of serpents -who vomit forth venom, in which shall wade evil men and women, and -murderers and adulterers. - -A knowledge of their religious customs would help us to judge what -hindrance they opposed to the reception of the system of the Christian -Church; or, on the other hand, what facilities they offered for the -substitution of one for the other; but it is only from the assumption that -the religious customs of our English ancestors were similar to those of -the Norsemen that we are able to form to ourselves any conception on the -subject. - -In Iceland, conformably to the constitution of its government, each -several district (the island was divided into four districts) had its -priest who not only presided over the religious rites of the people, but -also directed the deliberations of the people when their laws were made, -and presided over the administration of justice (Neander, "Church Hist.," -v. 418). - -Sir W. Dasent says that after the Norse conqueror had marked out his -boundaries and settled his people on their holdings, and chosen a site for -his own rude timber hall, he erected in its neighbourhood a temple in -which his followers might worship the gods of their forefathers, and that -this was one means of maintaining their habitual attachment to his -leadership.[4] The evidence leads to the conclusion that both -Scandinavians and Teutons had very few structural temples, perhaps only -one to each tribe or nation; and perhaps only three great annual occasions -of tribal or national worship. We get a glimpse of one of these structural -temples in the story of the conversion of Norway.[5] The great temple at -Maere, in the Drontheim district, contained wooden images of the gods; the -people assembled there thrice a year at midwinter, spring, and harvest; -the people feasted on horseflesh slain in sacrifice, and wine blessed in -the name and in honour of the gods; and human victims were sometimes -offered. - -The English townships, generally, it is probable, had no structural -temples, but sacred places of resort, as an open space in the forest, or a -hilltop, or a striking mass of rock, or a notable tree or well. The -religious observances at such places would probably not be a regular -worship of the gods, but such superstitions as the passing of children -through clefts in rocks and trees, dropping pins into wells, and others; -these superstitions survived for centuries, for they are forbidden by a -law of Canute,[6] and one of them, the consultation of wells, so late as -by a canon of Archbishop Anselm;[7] and, in spite of laws, and canons, and -civilization, and a thousand years of Christianity, some of them survive -among the peasantry of remote districts to this very day. - -In the "Ecclesiastical History" of Bede, we find notices of only three -structural heathen temples in England. The first is that at Godmundingham, -which Coifi, the chief of the king's priests, with the assent of King -Edwin and his counsellors and thanes, defiled and destroyed on the -acceptance of Christianity at the preaching of Paulinus. Of this we read -that it had a _fanum_, enclosed with _septis_, which contained _idola_ and -_aras_;[8] and since the temple was set on fire and thus destroyed, it -seems likely that the fanum was of timber. The second temple named is the -building east of Canterbury, in which King Ethelbert was accustomed to -worship while yet a heathen, which, on the king's conversion, was -consecrated as a church and dedicated to St. Pancras, and was soon -afterwards incorporated into the monastery of SS. Peter and Paul built on -the site. This was probably a stone building, and recent researches have -brought to light what are possibly remains of it. The third temple is that -in which Redwald, King of the East Anglians, after his conversion at the -Court of Ethelbert, worshipped Christ at one altar, while his queen -continued the old heathen worship at another altar in the same building. -It will be observed that all these were the temples of kings, and this -accords with the supposition that such structural temples existed only in -the chief places for worship of tribes and nations; just as the twelve -tribes of Israel had only one great national temple, while they had -numerous altars on the "high places" all over the country.[9] - -Again, there is a remarkable absence all through the history of any -mention of, or allusion to, the existence of a priesthood ministering -among the people. The only priest clearly mentioned is the worldly-minded -Coifi spoken of above, but as he is mentioned as "the chief of the king's -priests," we assume that there was a staff of them, probably attached to -the king's temple at Godmundingham. We suppose that Ethelbert of Kent, and -Redwald of East Anglia, would also have a priest or priests attached to -their temples; but we find no trace or indication of any others. - -This all tends to confirm our belief that there were few structural -temples, one for each kingdom, or perhaps one for each of the great tribes -which had coalesced into a kingdom; and that the priests were only a small -staff attached to each of these temples; while all the rest of the temples -were open-air places to which the neighbouring inhabitants resorted for -minor observances, without the assistance of any formal priesthood. - -Another possible source of information on the subject is the ancient -place-names. Godmundingham naturally invites consideration, and looks -promising at first sight; but analyzed and interpreted it means the home -of the sons of Godmund, and Godmund merely means "protection of God" as a -_name_.[10] - -The Saxon word Hearh[11] means either a temple or an idol.[12] Hearga is -the word by which the _fanum_ at Godmundingham and Redwald's _fanum_ is -translated in Alfred's version of Bede. It seems possible that this word -may be the root of such place-names as Harrow-on-the-Hill, Harrowgate, -Yorks, and Harrowden, Northants. Such place-names as Wednesbury, -Wedensfield, Satterthwaite, Satterleigh, Baldersby, Balderstone, -Bulderton, and those of which Thor or Thur is the first syllable, may -possibly indicate places where a temple or an idol or well has existed of -Woden, or Saeter, or Baldur, or Thor; as Thrus Kell (Thor's Well) in -Craven.[13] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE CONVERSION OF THE ENGLISH. - - -The history of the conversion of our heathen forefathers has happily been -told so often in recent times that it is not necessary to repeat it here. -It is sufficient for our purpose to recall to mind how when Augustine and -his Italian company came to Kent, they addressed themselves to King -Ethelbert, who had married a Christian princess of the House of Clovis, -and were permitted by him to settle and preach in his kingdom; how King -Oswald, on his recovery of his ancestral kingdom of Northumbria, sent to -the Fathers of Iona, among whom he had learnt Christianity during his -exile, for missionaries to convert his people; how Sigebert, King of the -East Saxons, and Peada, sub-King of the Middle Angles in Mercia, obtained -missionaries from Northumbria; how Sigebert, King of the East Angles, -invited Bishop Felix to give to his people the religion and civilization -which he had learnt in exile in Burgundy; how the Italian Bishop Birinus -came to the Court of King Cynegils, and converted him, and taught among -the men of Wessex; and, finally, how Wilfrid of York began the conversion -of the South Saxons. - -[Illustration: The Ruined Cathedral, Iona.] - -In the Apostolic Age, the conversion of people in a condition of ancient -civilization began among the lower classes of the people, and ascended -slowly man by man through the higher classes, and it was three hundred -years before the conversion of the Emperor Constantine made Christianity -the religion of the empire. In the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, -the work began in every case with the kings and the higher classes of the -people; and the people under their leadership abandoned their old religion -and accepted Christianity as the national religion, and put themselves -under the teaching of the missionaries, as a general measure of national -policy. - -The explanation of this probably is that their Teutonic kinsmen, Goths, -Burgundians, and Franks, who had carved for themselves kingdoms out of the -body of the Roman empire, having accepted the religion and the -civilization of the people they had conquered, were growing rapidly in -prosperity and the arts of civilized life. Christianity was the religion -of the new Teutonic civilization, and heathenism was a part of the old -state of barbarism. The Angles and Saxons, when they fastened upon this -derelict province of the empire, were too barbarous to appreciate -civilization, and destroyed it; but by the time that they had been settled -for some generations in their new seats they had outgrown their old wild -heathenism; and their kings had become sufficiently politic to desire to -learn how to raise the new kingdoms which they governed to an equality -with those of the kindred Continental nations. Hence, some of the -heptarchic kings sought for Christian teachers to help them, and others -were willing to receive them when they offered themselves. - -Our previous study of the organization, religion, and customs of the -people will help us to understand the process of the revolution. The -kings, when converted, put the matter before the constitutional council of -chiefs and wise men, and with their assent, and perhaps after a reference -of the question to a folk-mote, formally adopted the new religion. The -history which Bede gives of the first acceptance of Christianity in -Northumbria, under the teaching of Paulinus, affords a profoundly -interesting example of the process--the long hesitation of the king, the -discussion in the witan, the general acceptance of the new faith, the zeal -of the chief priest in destroying the national temple, the flocking of the -people to the preaching of Paulinus, and their baptism in multitudes in -the neighbouring rivers. - -In no instance were the missionaries persecuted; in no instance did the -kings coerce their people into the acceptance of the new religion.[14] In -such a wholesale transition from one religion to another, it is not -surprising that there occurred partial and temporary relapses, as in Kent -and Essex, on the death of King Ethelbert, 616, in Wessex on the death of -Cynegils, 643, and again in Essex, after the plague of 664; still less -surprising that old superstitions retained their hold of the minds of a -rude and ignorant people for centuries.[15] - -If we are right in our conjectures that every kingdom had a national -temple at the principal residence of the king with a small staff of -priests, and a few smaller temples with their priests under the patronage -of some of the subordinate chiefs, and that these temples were resorted to -by the people for special acts of common worship at the great festivals -three or four times in the course of the year, then it would not be -difficult for the new religion to supply to the people all that they had -been accustomed to of religious observances. Churches on the sites of the -old temples, with their clergy, and services on the great festivals of the -Christian year, would satisfy the customs of the people; and, in fact, the -circumstances of the Christian missionaries led in the first instance to -arrangements of this nature. - -In every kingdom the king, who had been the patron of the old religion, -took the new teachers under his protection, and made provision for their -maintenance by the donation of an estate in land with farmers and slaves -upon it; thus Ethelbert gave to Augustine a church and house in -Canterbury, and land outside the city for a site for his monastery, and -estates at Reculver and elsewhere for maintenance; Oswald gave to Aidan -the isle of Lindisfarne, under the shadow of his principal residence at -Bamborough; Ethelwalch gave Wilfred eighty-seven hides at Selsey, and -Wilfrid began his work, as probably the other missionary bishops did, by -emancipating his slaves and baptizing them; Cynegils, on his baptism, gave -Birinus lands round Winchester, and his son Coinwalch endowed the church -there with three manors; a little later, Wulfhere of Mercia gave Chad a -wild tract of a hundred thousand acres between Lichfield and Ecclesfield. -This was the "establishment" and beginning of the "endowment" of the -Church in England. - -The bishop in every kingdom first built a church and set up Divine -service, then simultaneously set up a school, and invited the king and -chiefs to send their sons to be educated. Aidan took twelve youths of -noble birth as his pupils, and added slaves whom he purchased. The young -men of noble families showed themselves eager to avail themselves of the -teaching and training of the missionaries, and readily offered themselves -to training for Holy Orders. The ladies at first, before there were -monasteries for women in England, went to the monasteries at Brie and -Chelles near Paris, and at Andelys near Rouen, which were under the -government of members of the Frankish royal families. From his central -station the bishop went out and sent his priests on missionary journeys to -the neighbouring townships, to teach and baptize. - -We know that all the first missionary bishops, except Felix and Birinus, -and perhaps they also, and most of their clergy, had been trained in the -monastic life of that time, so that it was natural to them to live in -community, under the rule of a superior, a very simple and regular life, -with frequent offices of prayer, and duties carefully defined, and -scrupulously fulfilled; a beautiful object-lesson on the Christian life -for the study of the king and his household, and the people round about -the bishop's town. - -Bede gives some interesting stories which illustrate this early phase of -the English conversion. He tells us how Paulinus preached all day long to -the people at Yeverin and Catterick[16] in Northumbria, and at -Southwell[17] in Lindsey, and baptized the people by hundreds in the -neighbouring rivers. He tells us how Aidan preached to Oswald's Court and -people, and the King interpreted for him;[18] how Aidan travelled through -the country on foot, accompanied by a group of monks and laymen, -meditating on the scriptures, or singing psalms as they went;[19] not that -he needed to travel on foot, for King Oswin had given him a fine horse -which he might use in crossing rivers, or upon any urgent necessity; but a -short time after, a poor man meeting him, and asking alms, the good bishop -bestowed upon him the horse with its royal trappings.[20] We learn from -the same authority that the company which attended a missionary bishop in -his progress through the country were not always singing psalms as they -went. Herebald, a pupil of St. John of Beverley, relates how one day as -that bishop and his clergy and pupils were journeying, they came to a -piece of open ground well adapted for galloping their horses, and the -young men importuned the bishop for permission to try their speed, which -he reluctantly granted; and so they ran races till Herebald was thrown, -and, striking his head against a stone, lay insensible; whereupon they -pitched a tent over him.[21] - -An "interior" picture is afforded by a sentence in the life of -Boniface,[22] who was afterwards to be the Apostle of Germany. When the -itinerant teachers used to come to the township in which Winfrid's father -was the principal proprietor, they were hospitably entertained at his -father's house; and the child would presently talk with them as well as he -could, at such an early age (six or seven years), about heavenly things, -and inquire what might hereafter profit himself and his weakness (A.D. -680). - -Finally Bede sums up the work of this period. "The religious habit was at -that period in great veneration; so that wheresoever any clergyman or monk -happened to come, he was joyfully received by all persons as God's -servant; and if they chanced to meet him on the way, they ran to him, and, -bowing, were glad to be signed with his hand, or blessed with his mouth. -On Sundays they flocked eagerly to the Church or the monasteries, not to -feed their bodies, but to hear the Word of God; and if any priest happened -to come into a village, the inhabitants flocked together to hear the word -of life; for the priests and clergymen went into the village on no other -account than to preach, baptize, visit the sick, and, in short, to take -care of souls."[23] - -So Cuthbert, a little later, not only afforded counsels and an example of -regular life to his monastery, "but often went out of the monastery, -sometimes on horseback, but oftener on foot, and repaired to the -neighbouring towns, where he preached the way to such as were gone astray; -which had been also done by his predecessor Boisil in his time. He was -wont chiefly to visit the villages seated high among the rocky uncouth -mountains, whose poverty and barbarity made them inaccessible to other -teachers. He would sometimes stay away from the monastery one, two, three -weeks, and even a whole month among the mountains, to allure the rustic -people by his eloquent preaching to heavenly employments."[24] - -It seems likely that the itinerating missionaries, on arriving at a -township, would seek out the chief man, first to ask hospitality from him, -and next to engage his interest with the people to assemble together at -some convenient place to hear his preaching. When the people were -converted, he would make arrangements for periodical visits to them for -Divine service, and the "convenient place" would become their outdoor -church; and there is good reason to believe that in many cases a cross of -stone or wood, whichever was the most accessible material, was erected to -mark and hallow the place.[25] - -Even after a priest was permanently settled, and a church built at the -ville of the lord of the land, the scattered hamlets on the estate would -still, perhaps for centuries, have only open-air stations for prayer. It -is very possible that some of these were the places where the people, -while unconverted, had been used to assemble for their ancient religious -ceremonies. - -[Illustration: Saxon Cross at Ruthwell, c. 680 A.D. (For its history and -description, see "Theodore and Wilfrid," by the Bishop of Bristol.)] - -Some of the Saxon churchyard crosses which still remain, as at Whalley, -Bakewell, Eyam, etc., possibly were station crosses. Possibly the well -which exists in some churches and churchyards, and the yew tree of vast -antiquity found in many churchyards, would carry us back, if we knew their -story, to pre-Christian times and heathen ceremonials. - -[Illustration: Churchyard Cross, Eyam, Derbyshire.] - -In time a church or chapel was built in this accustomed place of assembly, -as we shall find in a later chapter. But here we have to throw out a -conjecture as to an intermediate state of things between the open-air -station and the structural church. We have before us the curious fact that -usually the rector of a church is liable for the repair of the chancel, -and the people for the repair of the nave. This seems to point to the fact -that the forerunner of the rector built the first chancel, and left the -people to build the nave; and we suggest the following explanation; at -first in the worship of these stations, a temporary table was placed on -trestles, and a "portable altar" upon that, and so the holy mysteries were -celebrated. But in rainy weather this was inconvenient and unseemly; and -the rector of the parish provided a kind of little chapel for the -protection of the altar and ministrant; indeed, there is an ancient -foreign canon which requires rectors to do so. Then the parishioners, for -their own shelter from the weather, built a nave on to the chancel, -communicating with it by an arch through which the congregation could -conveniently see and hear the service. - -[Illustration: Base of Acca's Cross, c. 740 A.D., from "Theodore and -Wilfrid," by the Bishop of Bristol. S.P.C.K.] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE MONASTIC PHASE OF THE CHURCH. - - -We have seen how the bishops who introduced the Christian Faith into the -heptarchic kingdoms established themselves and their clergy as religious -communities, on the lands, and with the means which the kings gave them, -built their churches and schools, and made them the centres of their -evangelizing work. The next stage in the work was the multiplication of -similar centres. The princes and ealdormen who were in subordinate -authority over subdivisions of a kingdom would have two motives for -desiring to have such establishments beside them. First they had very -likely in some cases been the patrons of a temple or an idol, and a -priest, near their principal residence, and would desire to maintain their -influence over their dependents and neighbours by keeping up a similar -place of religious worship for them. Secondly, as enlightened men and -zealous converts, they would be glad to have near them some of these new -teachers of religion and civilization, and to establish one of these -centres of light and leading to the neighbouring country. The bishops also -obtained grants of land from the king in suitable places, in order to -found on them new centres of evangelization. - -Thus in Kent, Ethelbert founded the monastery of SS. Peter and Paul, which -is better known to us as St. Augustine's (A.D. 603), and his son Eadbald -founded an offshoot from it at Dover (630). In 633 the latter king founded -a nunnery at Folkestone as a provision for his daughter Eanswitha, who -became its first abbess. And when, in the same year, his sister Ethelburga -arrived as a refugee from Northumbria, he made provision for her by the -gift of an estate at Lyminge, where the widowed queen founded a monastery. -On the death of Earconbert, 664, Sexburga, his widow, built for herself a -nunnery in the Isle of Sheppy. Sexburga was succeeded at Sheppy by her -daughter Eormenhilda, and she by her daughter Werburga. Eormenburga, -granddaughter of King Eadbald, built a nunnery, of which she was the first -abbess, in the Isle of Thanet; and was succeeded by her daughter St. -Mildred. Lastly, King Egbert, in 669, gave Reculver to his mass-priest, -Bass, that he might build a minster thereon. - -In Northumbria, King Edwin built a church at York. Oswald gave Aidan the -Isle of Lindisfarne as the site of a religious house to be a centre of -missionary work in Northumbria. Aidan encouraged Hieu, the first nun of -the Northumbrian race, to organize a small nunnery on the north bank of -the Wear, and to remove thence to Hartlepool; there she was succeeded by -Hilda, the grand-niece of King Edwin, who subsequently removed to Whitby. -Besides organizing that famous double house, Hilda founded Hackness and -several other cells on estates of the abbey. The nunnery at Coldingham was -founded by Ebba, sister of King Oswald, who was herself the first abbess. -King Oswy, on the eve of battle with Penda (655), vowed, in case of -victory, to dedicate his infant daughter Elfleda to God, and to give -twelve estates to build monasteries. In fulfilment of his vow, he gave -Elfleda into the charge of Hilda, at Hartlepool (655), and gave six -estates in Bernicia and six in Deira, each of ten families (= hides of -land), of which probably Whitby was one, and perhaps Ripon and Hexham were -others. Benedict Biscop, a man of noble if not royal descent, received -grants of land from King Egfrid to found his famous monastery at Wearmouth -in 674, and eleven years later (685) at Jarrow. King Oswy built a -monastery at Gilling to atone for the crime of the slaughter of his -brother there (642), that prayer might be daily offered up for the souls -of both the slain and the slayer. King Ethelwald, son of Oswald and -sub-king of Deira, gave Bishop Cedd of the East Saxons a site for a -monastery at Lastingham, Yorkshire, that he might himself sometimes resort -to it for prayer, and might be buried there. Cedd left the monastery, on -his death, to his brother Chadd, afterwards Bishop of Lichfield. -Wulfhere, King of Mercia, gave Chadd fifty hides of land for the endowment -of his abbey at Barton-on-Humber. - -In the fen country of the Girvii, between Mercia and East Anglia, the two -kings, Peada of Mercia, and Oswy of the East Angles, concurred in the -foundation of a monastery at Medeshamsted (Peterborough, 655), and this -was followed by the foundation of Croyland (716) and Thorney (682). When -Etheldreda, the daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles, and virgin wife -of Egfrid of Northumbria, at length obtained her husband's leave to enter -upon the religious life, she built herself a double monastery on her own -estate in the Isle of Ely (673). On her death, she was succeeded as abbess -by her sisters Sexburga, Eormenhilda and Werburga, each of whom had -previously been abbesses at Sheppy. - -Among the West Saxons, a small community of Irish monks, at Malmesbury -(675), was enlarged by Aldhelm, a man of royal extraction, into a great -centre of religion and learning; and he and Bishop Daniel founded a number -of small monasteries, as Nutcelle (700) and Bradfield, up and down that -kingdom.[26] - -[Illustration: Saxon Church at Bradford-on-Avon. (Probably one of Bishop -Aldhelm's churches.)] - -The four priests whom Peada, the son of Penda, on his conversion, took -back with him from Northumbria to his Princedom of the Middle Angles, -lived together in community for some years, till, by the death of Penda, -his son attained the Kingship of Mercia, and then Diuma was consecrated -Bishop of the Mercians, and established his see at Lichfield. Earconwald -(who was afterwards Bishop of London, 674), a man of noble birth, built a -monastery for himself at Chertsey in Surrey, and a nunnery at Barking in -Essex, for his sister Ethelberga. "The vales of Worcestershire and -Gloucestershire were famous for the multitude and grandeur of their -monastic institutions." A monastic cell is said to have been founded at -Tewkesbury in 675, and one at Deerhurst, by Ethelmund the ealdorman, at a -still earlier date. Osric, the Prince of Wiccii, was probably the founder -of St. Peter's Nunnery, Gloucester, and of Bath Abbey. Apparently his -brother Oswald founded Pershore Abbey; and their sister Cyneburga was the -first Abbess of Gloucester. Saxulph, Bishop of Lichfield, founded a little -religious house of St. Peter, at Worcester, which became the see of the -first Bishop of Worcester, when that diocese was founded by Archbishop -Theodore (680). Egwine, Bishop of Worcester, founded a monastery at -Evesham (702), and laying down his bishopric, retired thither to spend the -remainder of his life as its abbot.[27] - - * * * * * - -The following names will nearly complete the list of religious houses up -to the end of the eighth century: Abingdon, 675; Acle, seventh century; -Amesbury, 600; Bardney, seventh century; Bedrichsworth (St. Edmunds), 630; -Bosham, 681; Bredon, 761; Caistor, 650; Carlisle, 686; Clive, 790; -Cnobheresbury (Burgh Castle), 637; Congresbury, 474; Dacor, seventh -century; Derauuda, 714; Dereham, 650; Finchale, seventh century; Fladbury, -691; Gateshead, seventh century; Glastonbury, fifth century; Ikanho -(Boston), 654; Ithanacester, 630; Kempsey, 799; Kidderminster, 736; -Leominster, 660; Oundle, 711; Oxford St. Frideswide, 735; Partney, seventh -century; Petrocstow, sixth century; Peykirk, eighth century; Redbridge, -Hants. (Hreutford), 680; Repton, 660; Rochester, 600; St. Albans, 793; -York St. Mary's, 732; Selsey, 681; Sherborne, 671; Stamford, 658; Stone, -Staff., 670; Stratford-on-Avon, 703; Tetbury, 680; Tilbury, 630; Tinmouth, -633; Walton, Yorks., 686; Wedon, 680; Wenloch, 680; Westminster, 604; -Wilton, 773; Wimborne, 713; Winchcombe, 787; Winchester, 646; Withington, -seventh century.[28] - -The fashion of founding religious houses spread among the smaller -landowners, and some begged land of the king on which to found them. - - * * * * * - -Some of these religious houses were great and solemn monasteries, like -those of Italy and France, with noble churches and frequent services; and -their inmates lived a secluded life, devoted to learning, meditation, and -prayer. St. Augustine's monastery at Canterbury was the earliest of them. -Benedict Biscop's monasteries at Wearmouth and Jarrow, and Wilfrid's at -Ripon and Hexham, and others, were of this type. - -The life of these greater monasteries was led according to a strict and -ascetic rule. St. Augustine would certainly adopt at Canterbury the rule -which his master, Gregory, had drawn up for his own house of St. Andrew on -the Coelian Hill. Benedict Biscop built his houses and framed his rule -after repeated visits to Italy and France and a careful study of the most -famous of their religious communities; Wilfrid would certainly introduce a -similar rule into the monasteries over which he presided; these would -follow the main lines of the Benedictine rule; though that, in its -entirety, was not introduced till the reformation of the monasteries in -the time of King Egbert and Archbishop Dunstan. The monastery at -Lindisfarne would naturally follow the customs of Iona and the less rigid -life of the Scottish religious houses; and is to be regarded rather as a -citadel of Christian learning, and a centre of evangelization, than as a -place devoted to seclusion and contemplation. The other religious houses -which owed their existence to the missionaries from Lindisfarne would be -likely to follow its customs. - -Some of the smaller religious houses were conducted on the same lines of -strict ascetic discipline as the greater monasteries; but in many of them -the life was little more "regular" or ascetic than that of an ordinary -household--say that of a church dignitary--scrupulous in the attendance of -all its members at the daily services in the oratory, and in the strict -decorum of their daily life. This opened an easy door to abuse, and in a -short time the discipline of many of the monasteries had become very lax. - -One remarkable feature of these early monasteries is that many of them -were hereditary properties, and the rule over them often descended from -father to son and from mother to daughter. We have seen the successions in -the Kentish monasteries and at Ely from sister to sister and from mother -to daughter. Cedd bequeathed his monastery of Lastingham to his brother -Chad. Benedict Biscop saw the danger of the custom, and declared that he -would not transfer his monasteries to his own brother unless he was a fit -person to be abbot. Whitgils built a small church and monastery at -Spurnhead in Holderness, and left them to his heirs; they came at last, by -legitimate succession, to no less distinguished a person than Alcuin; who -was, therefore, not only Abbot of Tours, with its vast territory on which -there were 200,000 serfs, but also of this little monastery in his native -country. Hedda, who styles himself mass-priest, in 790 bequeathed his -patrimonial inheritance, consisting of two large parcels of land, with a -minster on one of them, limiting the succession of the latter to clergymen -of his family considered capable of ruling a minster according to -ecclesiastical law, and in default of such heir, it was to go to Worcester -Cathedral, where he had been bred and schooled ("Cod. Dipl.," i. -206).[29] - -It is easy to understand how it was that in process of time many of these -semi-secular religious houses passed easily into the status of parochial -rectories; and, on the other hand, how a rectory, which often had a number -of chaplains and clerks to assist the rector in ministering to the mother -church and its outlying chapels, came to be called a "minster." - -In the Danish invasions and occupations, most of these religious houses -were plundered and ruined, the greater houses were not at once reoccupied -on the restoration of order, and most of the smaller houses disappeared. - -In the course of the revival of religion in the reign of Edgar under the -influence of Dunstan, it was the boast of the king and his ecclesiastical -advisers that they had restored not less than forty of the old -monasteries, and brought them to the discipline of the Benedictine rule. A -few monasteries were restored or founded after that time, notably by -Canute at Bury St. Edmunds, and at Hulme in Norfolk, and by Edward the -Confessor at Westminster; but at the time of the Conquest there were -probably not more than about fifty monasteries in the country of any -account; and in the latter part of the period the monastic zeal of -Dunstan's revival had cooled down to a level of average religiousness. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -DIOCESAN AND PAROCHIAL ORGANIZATION. - - -The English Conversion forms a remarkable chapter in the general history -of Christian missions; the piety, simplicity, zeal, and unselfishness of -the missionaries are beyond praise; not less remarkable is the earnestness -with which the English embraced the new faith and the civilization which -came together with it. The fact bears witness to the intellectual and -moral qualities of the people that in the very first generation of -converts there were men of learning and character like Wilfrid and -Benedict Biscop, like the pupils of Hilda of Whitby, like Ithamar and -Deusdedit in Kent, worthy of taking place among the bishops and abbots of -their time. - -The royal and noble ladies who played so important a part, in the -influence they exercised in affairs, or in the foundation and rule of -religious houses which trained bishops and priests, present a spectacle, -almost unparalleled in history, of which their descendants may well be -proud. - -The English kings and nobles put themselves frankly under the guidance of -their teachers not only in religion and literature, but in the arts of -civilization. The three codes of law which have remained to us--the first -written laws of the English race--carry proof on the face of them that -they were compiled under the influence of the Christian teachers. The -princes sought their counsel in the Witenagemot, and put them beside the -secular judges in the administration of justice at the hundred and folk -motes. "In a single century England became known to Christendom as a -fountain of light, as a land of learned men, of devout and unwearied -missions, of strong, rich, and pious kings."[30] - -By the third quarter of the seventh century the first fervour of the -English conversion had cooled down, and circumstances produced a kind of -crisis. One of those plagues which at intervals ravaged mediaeval -Europe--it was called the Yellow Pest--during the summer of 664 swept over -England from south to north. Earconbert, King of Kent, and Deusdedit, the -first native bishop of the Kentish men, died on the same day; Damian, -Bishop of Rochester, probably died a little before his brother of -Canterbury. In the north, Tuda, recently appointed Bishop of Northumbria, -died, and Cedd, Bishop of the East Saxons, then staying at his monastery -of Lastingham. The half of the East Saxons who were under the rule of the -sub-king Sighere, thinking the pest a result of the anger of the ancient -gods, apostatized from the faith. The differences between the two "schools -of thought," the Continental in the south of the country, and the Scotic -in the north, were causing friction and inconvenience, so much so that the -bishops elect of the Continental school hesitated to receive consecration -from the bishops of the Celtic school; Wilfrid of York had at this very -time gone to seek consecration from the Frankish bishops. In this crisis, -Oswy, King of Northumbria, agreed with Egbert, who succeeded Earconbert in -Kent, to send a priest acceptable to both schools to Rome, to study things -in that centre of Western Christendom, to get consecration from the Bishop -of Rome, and then to return and reduce the ecclesiastical affairs of -England to a common order. Wighard, a Kentish priest, sent in pursuance of -this wise plan, died in Rome; and, to save time, at the request of the -English Churches, Vitalian, the Bishop of Rome, selected Theodore of -Tarsus, a learned priest of the Greek Church, consecrated him, and sent -him to be archbishop of the English. - -With Theodore (668-690) begins a new chapter in our history. His -antecedents, as a member of the Eastern Church, eminently qualified him to -look impartially upon the two schools, the Italian and the Scotic, into -which the religious world of England was divided, and to address himself -with broad views of ecclesiastical polity to the task of organizing the -Heptarchic Churches into a harmonious province of the Catholic Church. - -In 673, at the instance of Theodore, and under the presidency of Hlothere, -King of Kent, a synod was held at Hertford, attended by all the English -bishops but one, and by the kings and many of the principal nobles and -clergy, at which the independent national Churches agreed to unite in an -Ecclesiastical Province, with the Bishop of Canterbury as its -metropolitan; it was further agreed that the bishops and clergy should -meet in synod twice a year, once always in August at Clovesho, the other -was probably left to the convenience of the moment as to time and place, -but was usually held at Cealchyth. Augustine and his successors at -Canterbury had never been practically more than bishops of the Kentish -men, with the titular distinction of archbishop which Gregory gave them. -Theodore, says Bede, was the first archbishop whom the Churches of the -English obeyed. This gave Theodore the authority necessary for the -carrying out of his plans for the peace and progress of the Church. - -One feature of Theodore's policy was the breaking up of some of the larger -sees. This was not done without opposition. There was much to be said in -favour of the idea of "one king one bishop;" it fell in with the political -organization and it had the prestige of ancient use. But Theodore, looking -at the subject from his point of view, as the ruler of an ecclesiastical -province, saw the desirableness of breaking it up into dioceses of more -manageable size. He was opposed by Wilfrid of York, who resented the -diminution of his great position as Bishop of the Northumbrian kingdom, -by the division of the diocese into four, York, Lindisfarne, Hexham, and -Whithern; but his opposition was overborne by the firmness of the King of -Northumbria and the archbishop. Wilfrid carried his complaint to Rome, -which is the first example of an appeal from the English to the Roman -Court, and raises the question of the relations of the English Church to -the Bishop of Rome. It is sufficient to say here in reference to the Roman -decision in Wilfrid's favour on this and subsequent occasions, that -neither Archbishop Theodore, nor the clergy, nor the king and thanes of -the Witan, showed any disposition to accept the intervention of the Bishop -of Rome, or to defer to his judgment in the matter; and that Wilfrid was -punished by the king with imprisonment and exile for his contumacy. - -The Bishop of Mercia, backed by the king, resisted the subdivision of that -vast diocese; and it was not until after Theodore's death that his plan -was carried into effect of dividing it into four, Lichfield, Hereford, -Worcester, Leicester, with Sidnacester for Lindsey, recently reconquered -from Northumbria. It was not till 705 that the great diocese of Wessex was -divided into two, Winchester and Sherburn, and further subdivided in the -time of Alfred the Great by the erection of sees for Somerset, Wilts, and -Devon. A new English see in Cornwall, on its conquest by Athelstan, -completed the list of Saxon bishoprics. - -The annual meeting of the Churches in synods was a very important -consequence of their organization into a province. Kings and their -councillors and great thanes came to the synods, as well as bishops and -clergy. It is probable that the laymen had no formal voice in the -ecclesiastical legislation, but their attestation and assent would add to -the authority of the acts of the councils in the estimation of the people. -The general synods would promote the regular holding of diocesan -synods.[31] One direct result of these frequent assemblies would be to -give a stimulus to the work of the Church all over the land. Another -incidental result would be to afford a stable centre of affairs, and to -promote the growth of a sentiment of nationality. Political affairs were -in a state of great disturbance. In some of the kingdoms rival pretenders -waged civil war, and now one, now another won the throne, while the bishop -maintained his position undisturbed. Nations warred against one another, -now Mercia reduced other kingdoms to dependence, and again Wessex asserted -a supremacy over others; but the synods continued to unite the bishops and -clergy of the kingdoms south of the Thames in frequent consultation for -the common good. - - * * * * * - -Theodore's idea in setting himself to divide the national bishoprics was -to multiply episcopal centres of orderly Church life, adequate to the -needs of the Christian flock. The settling of priests among the scattered -people to take pastoral charge of them was a natural sequel to the former -movement. The practical way of effecting it was to induce the landowners -to accept and make provision for a resident priest who should have the -pastoral care of their households and people. - -It is not historically true that Theodore invented this idea of parochial -organization, because it already existed in countries where the church had -been longer established. Rome was virtually divided into forty parishes -before the end of the third century. The system of appointing a priest to -take charge of all the souls within a definite district existed in the -city of Alexandria in the time of Athanasius, and in some country -districts of Asia Minor at a very early period; it was a natural outcome -of the Christian idea of the pastoral office of the ministry. The Emperor -Justinian[32] had encouraged the system, by a law of 541, which decreed -that a man who should build an oratory and furnish a competent livelihood -for a priest, might present a clerk thereto, by himself and his heirs, and -the bishop finding him worthy should ordain him. To come nearer home, a -Synod of Orleans, in A.D. 541, ordained that, if any one desired to have a -"diocese" on his estate, he should first allot sufficient lands for the -maintenance of the church and of the clerks who should fulfil their -offices there.[33] In Italy parishes were beginning to be founded in the -time of Gregory the Great. From one of his letters it appears that Anio -"Comes Castri Aprutiensis," having built a church in his castellum, -wished to have it consecrated;[34] and the Bishop of Fermo had referred to -Gregory on the question. He allows it to be done on condition that the -count shall provide a proper endowment for a resident priest. His -business-like statement of what the endowment is to consist of, gives a -kind of standard of what, in the circumstances of that time and in the -judgment of a wise and practical bishop, was a proper endowment of a -country parish. It was to consist of a farm with its homestead and a bed, -a yoke of oxen, two cows, and fifteen head of sheep, and the proper -implements of a farm, and four pounds of silver as the working capital. In -another letter Gregory bids Felix, Bishop of Messina, to consecrate a -church built by Subdeacon Januarus in the city, on the condition that it -be properly endowed; and in this case he expressly denies the founder any -rights (_e.g._ of patronage), except admission to Divine service. - -The canons of the Council of Toledo, a little earlier than this, and a -capitulary in 823 of Charlemagne,[35] a little later, show that it was -about this period that country parishes, with their separate endowments -and legal rights, were being founded throughout Europe.[36] Theodore knew -what had been done in the East, and he is said to have encouraged the -great landowners to adopt the system here. We may accept it as highly -probable that we owe to Theodore the diocesan and parochial organization -of the Church of England, which provides a pastor to look after every soul -in his own home, as against the previous system of monastic centres from -which missionaries went forth for occasional ministrations, and to which -the people resorted in their spiritual needs. - -The kings would be likely to set the example. They were accustomed to -divide their time among their principal estates. Aidan's head-quarters -were at Lindisfarne, but he had also a church and chamber at Bamborough, -the chief residence of the Northumbrian kings; and, if we rightly -understand Bede's words,[37] he had a church and chamber at other of the -principal houses, where the king and his court used to live for months -together. It would be natural that the king should provide for the -permanent residence of a priest to serve each of these royal chapels, for -the well-being of the people on the several royal estates; and the -subsequent history of royal free chapels confirms the conjecture that he -did so. The great landowners would be among the first to follow the king's -example; and we find some evidence of it in an incidental notice by -Bede[38] of the consecration by St. John of Beverley (705-718), then -Bishop of Hexham, of a church at South Burton, in Yorkshire, for the -Ealdorman Puch, and another at North Burton, in the same county, for -Addi the Ealdorman. What Puch and Addi were doing on their estates, -probably others of the great Thanes were also doing, though no marvel -occurred at the consecration of these other churches to lead the historian -to mention them. - -[Illustration: House of a Saxon nobleman. The hall in the middle, the -church on the right hand. The nobleman and his wife are distributing alms -to the poor. From Harl. MS. 603.] - -Not only kings and nobles, but the bishops themselves, and the great -monasteries with outlying estates, would naturally make provision for the -religious interests of the people dependent upon them. In the south we -gather from the canons of Clovesho, in 747, that the collegiate and -conventual bodies had erected churches on their outlying estates, and that -the lands of the lay proprietors had been divided into districts by the -bishops, and committed to the care of resident priests. - -A letter written by Bede, the most learned and most revered Churchman of -the time, to Egbert, on his consecration to the See of York, is a very -valuable piece of evidence as to the condition of the Church in the north -at that point of time (734). We learn first that the discipline of the -monasteries had become lax. Many reeves had obtained land under pretext of -founding a monastery, and under that pretext claimed freedom for their -land from state burdens, and called themselves abbots, but were living -with their wives and families, and servants, very much like other lay -folk, and handing down their abbeys as hereditary fees. He says that there -are towns and hamlets in the most inaccessible places which are taxed for -the support of a bishop--an early notice of the general payment of -tithe--but never see one, and are moreover without any resident teacher -or minister--which implies that towns and hamlets in more accessible -places have a resident minister, and are visited by a bishop for -confirmation. The venerable old man gives advice to the youthful prelate -for the mitigation of the evils which he points out. He advises him to -obtain the fulfilment of the original plan of Gregory the Great, viz. the -formation of the churches north of the Humber into a northern province, -with York as the metropolitan see, and to obtain the king's leave to -subdivide the northern dioceses to the number of twelve in all, using some -of the monasteries of whose decadence he complains for the new episcopal -sees; he exhorts him to ordain more priests to preach and administer the -sacraments in every village; and, lastly, he suggests the translation of -the Creed and Our Father out of Latin into English for the instruction of -the people. - -Egbert followed Bede's advice so far as to obtain his recognition as -archbishop of the second province which embraced the country north of the -Humber, with York as its metropolitan see; but he did not procure the -subdivision of the existing dioceses. He did, however, accomplish a great -work by raising the schools of York to such an eminence in learning and -religion that they were famous throughout Europe. The schools of Wessex, -under Aldhelm, rivalled those of Northumbria; the clergy generally could -hardly fail to be influenced by the spirit of these great centres. - -Meantime churches were being built, and rectors of them settled upon the -estates of the landowners. The seventh canon of Graetley, 928, in the -reign of Athelstan, dealing with the question of penance for perjury, -directs that the parish priest, _sacerdos loci illius_, is to certify the -bishop as to the penitent's behaviour; which implies that local priests -were sufficiently widely scattered to keep in view every member of the -small population. - - * * * * * - -The Parish Priest was not merely one who ministered in spiritual things to -those who chose to accept his ministrations, he had ecclesiastical -jurisdiction over a definite territory and over all who dwelt within it. -Just as the jurisdiction of the heptarchic bishops extended over the -kingdoms, so in the parish the jurisdiction of the priest was conterminous -with the estate of the lord or thane who invited the priest to minister to -himself and his people. - -Some of these estates were very extensive, comprising vast tracts of -forest and waste around the cultivated land, and therefore some of the -parishes were of great extent. Probably the parish priest, in addition to -his work in the principal village, would also partially adopt the old -system of itinerant mission work by visiting remote hamlets within his -jurisdiction at certain times for the preaching of the Word and -celebration of Divine worship. It is certain that at a very early period -in the history of parishes the rector was assisted by chaplains in the -maintenance of the frequent services of the mother church and in the -visitation of the people. - -Thus there gradually arose another class of Churches. As population -increased and forest was assarted and waste brought into cultivation, new -centres of population grew up at a distance from the original village. The -Saxon laws encouraged the enterprise of the people by assigning to them a -higher rank in proportion to their possessions,[39] which involved not -only social dignity but also legal privileges; a law of Athelstan enacted -that "if a 'ceorl' throve so that he had fully four hides of his own land, -church and kitchen, 'bur geat settl,' and special service in the king's -hall ('sunder note' or 'sundor note') then was he thenceforth of -thane-right worthy."[40] - -It is in the nature of things that many of these successful ceorls would -be energetic and enterprising men who had looked out a tract of good soil -in some neighbouring dale or amidst the surrounding waste, and brought it -under cultivation, and created what was virtually a new township. The -occasional visits of the parish priest or his chaplain would hardly -satisfy the inhabitants of the new settlement for long. The new -proprietor, in imitation of his betters, would be ambitious of having a -church on his ground, and the law of Athelstan encouraged his laudable -ambition. But the customary jurisdiction and revenues of the mother -Church extending over the whole district were jealously guarded against -encroachment on the part of these new foundations. A "canon of Edgar" -enacts (1) that tithe be paid to the Old Minster to which the district -belongs; (2) if a thane has on his boc-land a church at which there is not -a burial-place, then of the nine parts let him give to his priest what he -will; and let every church scot and plough-alms go to the Old Minster. A -later law of King Canute enacts that if a thane has erected on his own -boc-land (freehold or charter land) a church having a legerstowe--a -burial-place--he may subtract one-third part of his tithes from the mother -Church, and bestow them upon his own clerk.[41] - -[Illustration: Saxon Church of timber, at Greenstead, Essex.] - -A law of Canute incidentally describes four different classes of churches -which, "though divinely they have like consecration," hold a different -rank and have a different penalty attached to the violation of their -right of sanctuary. The classes are called: (1) the heafod mynster, chief -minster; (2) the medemra mynster, translated _ecclesia mediocris_; (3) the -laessa mynster, translated _ecclesia minor_; (4) the feld-cirice, literally -field-church, where there was no burial-place. These are probably (1) -cathedral or mother churches; (2) churches of ancient date with wide -jurisdiction; (3) smaller parish churches; (4) district or mission -chapels. - -[Illustration: West end of Greenstead Church, Essex.] - -The continual increase of the population and the consequent bringing of -more land into cultivation, and the gathering of this population upon the -newly cultivated lands, caused the constant growth of new lordships or -townships, or, in later times, manors, and the constant building of new -churches to supply their spiritual wants. The jurisdiction and rights of -the mother Church had to be dealt with in all these cases; but in many -cases, by agreement with the mother Church, or by the assumption of a lord -of the land too powerful for its priest to withstand, or by long usage, -many of these new churches acquired the status of independent parishes; -and at length, in the time of Edward the Confessor, the legal status of -parish churches was given to all which by ancient custom had the right of -administration of baptism, marriage, and burial. - -The Domesday Survey gives, so far as it deals with the matter, a view of -the condition of the Church and clergy at the close of the Saxon -period--_tempore regis Edwardi_. It is to be borne in mind that its object -was not to make a complete terrier and census of the kingdom, but to -ascertain the rights and revenues due to the Crown. The commissioners who -made the survey in the different counties took somewhat different lines in -making their returns, particularly in those details which are of special -interest in the present inquiry. In most of the counties churches and -clergy seem to be named only where they were liable to some payment to the -Crown. In some counties all the churches seem to be named; in others all -the presbyters; in others there is no mention of one or the other. Thus, -in Lincolnshire 222 churches are named, in Norfolk 243, in Suffolk, 364; -in Leicestershire 41 presbyters, in Rochester diocese about 65,[42] in -Sussex 42, of which seven are described as _ecclesiolae_ chapels. In the -returns for the counties of Cambridge, Middlesex, Lancaster, and Cornwall, -neither church nor presbyter occurs. In the whole there are only 1700 -churches named. But there seems no reason why Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and -Suffolk should have had a larger proportion of churches to population at -that time than the other counties; and if the other counties were -proportionately subdivided into parishes and equipped with churches, we -arrive at the conclusion that there were nearly as many churches -(including chapels) and clergy before the Norman Conquest, when the -population was about two millions, as there were at the beginning of the -nineteenth century, when the population had increased to nearly nine -millions. - -[Illustration: Saxon tower, Sompting Church, Sussex.] - -From the same source we learn that the usual quantity of land assigned to -a church was from five to fifty acres; in some cases the glebe was larger. -Bosham, in Sussex, was one of the largest; in the time of Edward the -Confessor it had 112 hides. Barsham, in Norfolk, had 100 acres; -Berchingas, in Suffolk, 83; Wellingrove, in Lincolnshire, 129 acres of -meadow and 14 of other land. - -The private origin of ecclesiastical benefices, together with the feudal -ideas of the tenure of property, produced in the minds of the owners of -advowsons a certain sense of property in the benefices which shows itself -in various ways: in the bargaining with the presentee for some advantage -to the lord, as a present, or a pension, or the tenancy of part of the -land. - -The advowson descended with the manor, and was often subdivided among the -heirs.[43] In later times we not infrequently find a rectory held in -medieties, but in Domesday Book we find a benefice divided into any number -of fractions up to one-twelfth.[44] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE SAXON CLERGY. - - -The sources from which we obtain the fullest details of the religious life -of the Saxon priests and people are the laws of their kings and the canons -of their synods; and perhaps the most convenient way of presenting the -information which these contain will be partly to give a series of -quotations from them in chronological order, with such explanations as may -seem necessary; partly to group them according to their subject; using one -method or the other as may seem best to serve our purpose. - -Of the earlier part of the period three codes of law have come down to -us--that of Ethelbert of Kent, between 597 and 604; of Ine King of the -West Saxons, probably 690; and of Wihtred of Kent, 696. We must bear in -mind that the bishops and chief clergy of the kingdom were present at the -Witan of the Saxon kings, as well as the chiefs and wise men; and that the -kings and chief laymen were often present at the ecclesiastical synods; -so that both laws and canons express the mind of the whole people. - -The laws of Ethelbert are the earliest written code of the English race. -They begin with the enactment, "If the property of God (_i.e._ of the -Church) be stolen, twelve-fold compensation shall be made; for a bishop's -property, eleven-fold; a priest's, nine-fold; a deacon's, six-fold; a -clerk's, three-fold; church frith, two-fold; minster frith, two-fold." A -law of Earconbert of Kent (640) commanded the destruction of the temples -and idols in that kingdom. - -The laws of Ine, King of the West Saxons (688-725), are said in the -preamble to be made "by the consent and advice of Ceadwalla, his father, -and of Heddi, his bishop, and of Earconwald, his bishop, and with all his -ealdormen, and the distinguished Witan of his people, and also with a -large assembly of God's servants (the clergy)." The first of his laws is -(1) that God's servants rightly hold their lawful rule. Then it goes on to -enact (2) that children be baptized within thirty days, under a penalty of -30_s._, and if one die unbaptized the father shall make bot[45] for it -with all that he has. Then come enactments (3, 4, 5), against doing any -work on the Sunday, on the payments to be made to the clergy, and on the -privilege of sanctuary, which will be more conveniently grouped with -similar enactments later on; (6) if a man fight in a king's house he shall -forfeit all his property; if in a minster, he shall make bot of 120_s._; -(7) if a man before a bishop belie his testimony he shall forfeit 120_s._; -(61) church scot shall be paid according to where a man's roof and hearth -are at midwinter; (76) inflicts a special fine for slaying a godson or -godfather--if it be a bishop's son,[46] it is to be half the amount. - -The preamble to the laws of Wihtred of Kent, in 696, states that they were -made at "a deliberative convention of the great men," the Archbishop -Birhtwald and Bishop Gebmund of Rochester being present, "and every degree -of the Church of that province spoke in unison with the obedient people." -The first law (1) gives the Church freedom in jurisdiction and revenue; -(6) a priest guilty of misconduct or negligence to be suspended till the -doom of the bishop; (9, 10, 11) on the observance of Sunday, are the same -as in the laws of King Ine, quoted p. 79; (12, 13) seek to suppress the -old heathenism by imposing on a man forfeiture of all his substance for -making offerings to devils, and the same on his wife if she shared in his -offence; a theowe for the same offence is to forfeit 6_s._ or "pay with -his skin;"[47] (14, 15) impose penalties for not abstaining from flesh on -fasting days; (16, 17) relate to the value of the oaths of various classes -of people, and are dealt with at p. 77. One of the most important laws of -Wihtred is that which is called "the privilege of Wihtred," given at a -Witan held at Bapchild, attended by the king and nobles, as well as by the -two bishops and clergy, which released the lands of monasteries from gabel -or land-tax, and obliged the tenants only to attend the king in war and to -pay burgh bot and brig bot, _i.e._ payments levied for the repair of -town-walls and bridges. This privilege was confirmed in the first year of -King Ethelbald of Mercia at the Council of Clovesho (716). It was granted -by other Saxon kings also in their charters. - - * * * * * - -The decrees of a council at Clovesho, in 747, require a few words of -preface. In 745 Boniface, "the Apostle of Germany," had presided at a -synod of Frank bishops, at Augsburg,[48] which had made canons for the -reform of abuses, and had formally accepted the supremacy of Rome. -Boniface sent a copy of these canons to his friend Cuthbert, Archbishop of -Canterbury, clearly wishing him to take like measures. - -The first canon of this Synod enacted that metropolitans should be obliged -to apply to Rome for their pall, and obey the orders of St. Peter in -everything according to the canons. Another canon to the same end decreed -that if the people refuse to submit to the discipline of the Church, the -bishops shall appeal to the archbishop of the province, and the archbishop -to the Pope. - -Two years afterwards Zacharias, Bishop of Rome, sent letters by the hands -of two legates "to the English inhabitants of Britain," in which he -admonishes them to reform their lives, and holds out threats of -excommunication against those who neglect to do so.[49] - -The Pope's action was clearly intended to induce the English Church to -imitate the submission of the Frankish Church. A synod was assembled at -Clovesho, A.D. 747, attended by twelve English bishops of the dioceses -south of the Humber and a number of their clergy, and by Ethelbald, King -of the Mercians, who was over lord of all the English kingdoms south of -the Humber. The Pope's letter was read in Latin and English, and then the -synod proceeded to draw up a number of canons. - -[Illustration: A Saxon bishop and priest. (From Cotton MS., Claudius, B. -iv.)] - -The omissions, compared with the canons of the German Council, are the -most important part of the document. The first canon decreed that every -bishop should be careful to support his character (_i.e._ his status as a -bishop), execute every part of his office, and maintain the canons and -constitutions of the Church against encroachment; and the second that the -bishops and clergy should be careful to keep a good correspondence with -each other, without any flattering applications to any person, considering -that they are the servants of one master, and entrusted with the same -commission; and, therefore, though they are divided by distance of place -and country, they ought to be united by affection and pray for each other -that every one may discharge his office with integrity and conscience. -Then there follow disciplinary canons: (3) that the clergy should call -together the people of all ranks and degrees in each place, preach to them -the word of God, and forbid them to follow the heathen customs; (2) that -the bishops should visit their dioceses every year; (4, 5, and 7) relate -to monasteries; (6) bishops not to ordain priests without examination as -to learning and morals; (8) priests to abstract themselves from worldly -affairs and give themselves to reading, prayer, etc.; (9) to preach, -baptize, and inspect the morals of the people in those precincts and -districts assigned to them by their bishops--which implies the existence -of subdivisions of dioceses into various jurisdictions, and the existence -of parishes; (10) priests to be thoroughly acquainted with the doctrines -and services of the church, to teach the Creed and Lord's Prayer, and -explain the sacraments; (11) to be uniform in their preaching and -ministration; (12) regulates church music and ceremonies, canons not to -intrude upon things which belong to the bishop; (13, 14, 15, 16, 18) on -the observance of Sundays, holy days, the seven hours of prayer, -rogations, and ember days; (17) appoints that the days on which St. -Gregory and St. Augustine died shall be kept as holy days, and their names -be included in the litanies. - -Canons (21) and (22) enjoin on the clergy sobriety and propriety of -conduct, and ever-fitness for celebration and reception of Holy Communion. -(26) enjoins the bishops to convene their clergy and abbots, and -communicate to them the decisions of the council, and command their -observance; and if there is any disorder too strong for the bishop's -correction, he is to report it to the archbishop at the next meeting of -the synod--but not a word of a reference beyond him to the Pope. (27) is -on the singing of the psalms with recollection and pious dispositions and -posture of respect, and of prayers--and among them of prayers for the -departed;[50] and those who do not understand Latin are to pray in the -vulgar tongue. - -(26) and (27) are specially notable as directed against what seem to have -been growing errors; they explain that alms are not to be given to commute -penance and dispense with the discipline of the Church, and so procure a -liberty of sinning; that those who think that God can be bribed thus, make -their alms useless to them, and add to their guilt. Also that it is folly -and presumption to think that a man condemned to penance may procure -others to fast, say psalms, and distribute charity on his behalf; that if -a man may thus buy his punishment and get others to repent for him, a rich -man would be sure of salvation, and only the poor be in danger. The last -canon enjoins that kings and princes and the whole body of the people be -publicly prayed for in church.[51] - -It is to be observed that the Northumbrian king was not present with his -nobles and bishops at this synod; for eleven years previously (in 736) the -Bishop of York had obtained the dignity of an archbishop with the -Northumbrian churches as his province. The Papal legates visited the -north, but we have no account of their doings there. - - * * * * * - -The laws of King Alfred are prefaced by a recapitulation of the early -history of the Church, and recite the decree of the apostles at the Synod -of Jerusalem. Then the king goes on to say that many synods were assembled -in the old times, among the English race, after they had received the -Faith of Christ, and ordained a "tort" for many misdeeds. Out of those -laws which he had met with, either of the days of Ine his kinsman, of -Offa, King of the Mercians, or of Ethelbryht who first among the English -race received baptism, the things which seemed to him most right he had -gathered together and rejected others. He had then showed them to the -witan, and they declared that it seemed good to them all that they should -be observed. We conclude that the codes of Ethelbert, Ine, and Offa (which -last has not come down to us) were the principal codes then known. We -select several of the laws of Alfred which deal with new matter. - -1. If a man pledge himself and break his pledge, he is to surrender his -weapons and goods to the keeping of his friends, and be in prison forty -days in a bishop's town, and suffer there whatever the bishop may -prescribe; his friends to find him food; if he have none, then the king's -reeve to do it; if he escape, to be excommunicated of all Christ's -churches. If a man seek a church and confess an offence not before known, -let it be half forgiven--_i.e._ let him pay half the penalty. - -One of the laws agreed upon between King Alfred and Guthrum was, if any -man wrong an ecclesiastic or a foreigner as to money or life, the king or -earl and the bishop shall be to the injured in the place of kinsman and -protector. - -Among the laws of Athelstan (925-940), (3) directs that there be sung, -every Friday at every monastery, a fifty (of psalms) for the king, and for -all who will what he wills, and for others as they may merit; (7) -describes the ordeal by fire and by water.[52] - -Among the laws of King Edmund (940-946) made at the Synod of London, -"Odda, archbishop, and Wulfstan, archbishop, and many other bishops being -present," it was ordered (1) that those in holy orders who have to teach -God's people by their life's example keep their chastity according to -their degree; (5) that every bishop repair the houses of God in his -[district (?)], and also remind the king that all God's churches be well -conditioned. - - * * * * * - -The "Canons of Edgar" (A.D. 959-975)[53] were made under the reforming -influence of Archbishop Dunstan, and were intended as a standard of life -and duty for the clergy. They begin with the recognition, which is -amplified and emphasized in the laws of subsequent reigns, that the great -duty which the order of the clergy perform in the service of the nation is -to celebrate the worship of Almighty God, and offer up prayers on behalf -of the king and people. We give the substance of the canons as briefly as -possible, but without any material omission, so that the reader may feel -assured that he has the whole body of the legislation before him. - -They decree that the ministers of God devoutly serve and minister to God, -and intercede for all Christian folk; be faithful and obedient to their -seniors (bishops, abbots, etc.); ready to help others, both Godward and -manward; and be to their earthly lords true and faithful; that they honour -one another, the juniors diligently hearing and loving their seniors, and -the seniors diligently teaching the juniors. - -That every one come to the synod yearly, attended by his clerk, and an -orderly man as his servant; that he bring his books and vestments,[54] and -ink and parchment for the constitutions;[55] and food for three days. That -the priest report to the synod if any one has done him any serious injury, -and that all should regard it as done to themselves, and obtain -compensation according as the bishop shall determine. He shall also report -if any one in his parish lives openly against God, or has done mortal -sin, whom he cannot move to amendment, or dare not for fear. - -That no dispute between priests shall be brought before secular judges, -but reconciled by their fellows or referred to the bishop; no priest shall -desert the church to which he was ordained, but hold to it as his lawful -spouse. That he do not deprive another of anything which belongs to him -either in his church or parish or gildship; he shall not take another's -scholar without his leave; that in addition to lore, he diligently learn a -handicraft; that the learned priest do not throw scorn on the half -learned, but correct him; that the well-born priest do not despise the -low-born, for if he will consider all men are of one birth; that he -administer baptism as soon as asked, and bid every one to bring his -children to be baptized within thirty-seven days[56] of their birth and -not defer too long to have them confirmed by the bishop. - -That he diligently promote Christianity, and banish heathenism, and forbid -well-worship, necromancy, augury, man-worship, incantations, and many -things which they practise with various spells, and "frithsplottum,"[57] -and wich-elms and various trees and stones, and other phantasms by which -many are deceived, and that devil's craft whereby children are drawn -through the earth, and the merriment that men make on the night of the -year (New Year's Eve). - -That every Christian diligently train his child and teach him the -Paternoster and Credo;[58] that on festivals men abstain from profane -songs and devil's games, and on Sundays from trading and folk motes; that -men cease from lies and foolish talking and blasphemy; and from -concubinage, and have lawful wives; that every man learn the Paternoster -and Credo if he desire to lie in holy ground [at his burial], and be -considered housel-worthy [fit to receive Holy Communion], because he is -not a good Christian who is not willing to learn these, nor may rightly be -a sponsor at baptism nor at confirmation; that there be no contentions on -festival or fasting days, nor oaths, nor ordeals. - -That the priests keep the churches with all reverence for the Divine -ministry and pure worship, and for nothing else; nor do anything -unbecoming there nor in the vicinity; nor allow idle talking, idle deeds, -unbecoming drinkings, nor any other idle practices; nor allow dogs in the -churchyard, nor more swine than a man is able to manage [or no dog nor -swine so far as a man can prevent it], that nothing unbecoming be placed -in the church; that at the church-wake men keep sober and pray diligently, -nor practise drinking, nor anything else unbecoming; that no one be buried -in church unless he was known when living to be so well pleasing to God as -to be worthy of it. - -That the priest do not celebrate the Eucharist in any house, but only in -the church, except in case of extreme sickness, and do not consecrate -except upon a consecrated altar,[59] and not without book and the canon of -the mass before his eyes, that he make no mistakes, and that he have a -corporal when he celebrates, and a _subuculum_[60] under his albe, and all -necessary things rightly appointed, and have a good and correct book, and -not without some one to make the responses; that every one receive fasting -except in case of extreme sickness; that the priest reserve the host ready -for any that need; that he celebrate with pure wine and pure water; that -no priest celebrate mass without partaking, or hallow it unless he is -holy. That the chalice be of molten material, never of wood; that all -things which approach the altar or belong to the church be purely and -worthily appointed, and that there be always lights in the church at mass; -that there be no negligence about anything consecrated, holy water, salt, -incense, bread, nor anything holy; that no woman come near the altar while -the priest celebrates. - -That at the right times the bell be rung, and the priest say his hours in -church, or there pray and intercede for all men.[61] That no priest come -into the church or into his stall without his upper garment, or minister -without his vestment. That no man in orders conceal his tonsure, or leave -it badly shaven, or wear his beard long; that priests be not ignorant of -fasts or festivals, lest they lead the people wrong.[62] - -That every one accompany his fasts with almsgiving; that "priests in -ecclesiastical ministries be all on one equality, and in a year's space, -be like-worthy in all ecclesiastical ministries;"[63] that they diligently -teach the young handicrafts, that the Church may be helped thereby. - -That priests preach every Sunday, and well explain. That no Christian eat -blood of any kind. That they teach the people to pay their dues to God, -plough-alms fifteen days after Easter, the tithe of young at Pentecost, -fruits of the earth at All Saints, Peter's penny on St. Peter's day, and -church scot at Martinmas. That priests so distribute people's alms as to -please God, and dispose the people to almsgiving; they shall sing psalms -when they distribute alms, and bid the poor pray for the people. That -priests avoid drunkenness, and warn the people against it; that they -eschew unbecoming occupations, as ale-scop or glee man, but behave -discreetly and worthily; abstain from oaths and forbid them; not consort -too much with women, but love their own spouse, that is, their church; not -bear false witness, or be the confidant of thieves; that the priest have -not to do with ordeals or oaths, or be compurgator with a thane, unless -the thane take the first oath; be not a hunter, or hawker, or dicer, but -occupy himself with his books, as becomes his order. - -That every priest hear confession and give penance, and carry the -Eucharist to the sick, and anoint him if he desire it, and after death not -allow any idle customs about the body, but bury it decently in the fear of -God. That every priest have oil for baptism, and also for anointing the -sick. Let him promote Christianity in every way, as well by preaching as -by good example, and he shall be rewarded by God Almighty; and let him -remember when he fetches the chrism [at the yearly synod] to say the -prayers for the king and the bishop. - - * * * * * - -The laws of King Ethelred (979-1016), made with the counsel of both the -ecclesiastical and lay witan, are conceived in a very Christian spirit, -and expressed with considerable eloquence. We think it worth while to give -in full some of them which relate to the general desire of the authorities -in Church and State to promote religion. (1) This, then, is first, that we -all love and worship one God, and zealously hold one Christianity, and -every heathenship totally cast out, that every man be regarded as entitled -to right, and peace and friendship be lawfully observed. (2) That -Christian men and uncondemned be not sold out of the country, and -especially into a heathen nation, that those souls perish not that Christ -bought with His own life. (3) That Christian men be not condemned to death -for all too little, and in general let light punishments be decreed, and -let not for a little God's handiwork and His own purchase which He dearly -bought be destroyed. (4) That every man of every order readily submit to -the law which belongs to him; above all, let the servants of God, bishops -and abbots, monks and mynchens, priests and nuns,[64] live according to -their rule, and fervently intercede for all Christian people. (5, 6) Monks -are not to live out of minster, but to observe specially three things: -their chastity and monkish customs, and the service of the Lord. (7) -Canons, where their benefice is, so that they have a refectory and -dormitory, are to keep their minster rightly; and mass-priests to keep -themselves from the anger of God. (9) Full well they know that they have -not rightly, through concubinage, intercourse with women; he who will -abstain from this and serve God rightly, shall be worthy of thane-wer, and -thane-right both in life and in the grave; he who will not, let his honour -wane before God and before the world. (10) Let every church be in grith -(protection) of God and the king, and of all Christian people; let no man -henceforth reduce a church to servitude, nor unlawfully make -church-mongering, nor turn out a church minister without the bishop's -counsel. (11) God's dues are to be willingly paid, plough-alms, tithe of -young, earth fruits, Rome fee, and light scot thrice a year,[65] and soul -scot at the open grave, or, if buried elsewhere, to be paid to the minster -to which it belongs. (13-19) Sundays and holy days are defined as in -previous laws, and at those holy tides let there be to all men peace and -concord, and be every strife appeased. (22) Let every Christian man -strictly keep his Christianity, and go frequently to shrift and housel. -(23) Let every injustice and wrong-doing be carefully cast out of the -country, and (26) God's laws be zealously loved by word and deed, then -will God soon be merciful to this nation.[66] Lastly (34), it is the duty -of us all to love and worship one God and strictly hold one Christianity, -and totally cast out every kind of heathenism; and (35) let us faithfully -support one royal lord, and all defend life and land together as best we -may, and to God Almighty pray with inward heart. - - * * * * * - -The canons which go under the name of Elfric, and are of the end of the -tenth century, add a little to the knowledge we have already gleaned. The -10th canon gives a list of the seven orders of the clergy under the degree -of bishop, viz. ostiarius, lector, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon, -and priest, and defines their several offices. (17) reckons a priest and a -bishop to be of the same order. (19) requires the priests and inferior -clergy to be at church at the seven canonical hours: _Uhtsang_ (Prime) -about 4 a.m., _Primsang_ (Matins) 6 a.m., _Undersang_ (Terce) at 9, -_Middaysang_ (Sext) at noon, _Nonsang_ (Nones) at 3 p.m., _AEfensang_ -(Vespers), and _Nightsang_ (Nocturns). (21) Every priest before ordination -to be furnished with correct copies of the Psalter, Book of Epistles and -Gospels, Missal, Hymnary, Penitential, and Lectionary. (23) The parish -priest, every Sunday and holy day, is to explain to the people in English -the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Gospel for the day. (25) Not to -celebrate in a house except one be sick. (27) No priest is to take money -for baptism or other office. (28) Priests are not to remove from one -parish to another for the sake of advantage, but to remain in the cure to -which they were ordained. (29) Not to turn merchant, soldier, or lawyer. -(30) To have always two oils, one for children, the other for the sick. -(33) Orders the canons of the first four councils to be regarded like the -four Gospels; "there have been many councils held in later ages, but these -four are of the greatest authority." (36) "The housel is Christ's body, -not bodily but spiritually, not the body in which He suffered, but the -body about which He spake, when He blessed bread and wine for housel.... -Understand now that the Lord who could before His passion change the bread -to His body and the wine to His blood spiritually, that the same daily -blesses, by the hands of His priests, the bread and wine to His spiritual -body and blood." - - * * * * * - -An important feature in the administration of criminal law was the -recognition of the right of _Sanctuary_ to the house of the king and the -churches, which had probably been introduced from the imperial law by the -influence of the missionaries. The laws of Ine recognize the right of -sanctuary to a church; a murderer taking sanctuary is to have his life -but to make bot, according to law, a theowe who has incurred scourging -shall be excused the penalty. - -The laws of Alfred allow three days' sanctuary in the "mynsterham," which -is free from the king's farm, or any other free community, with a bot of -120_s._ for its violation, to be paid to the brotherhood; and seven days -in every church hallowed by the bishop, with the penalty of the king's -"mund and byrd" and the church's "frith" for its violation. The Church -ealdor is to take care that no one give food to the refugee. If he be -willing to give up his weapons to his foes, then let them keep him thirty -days, and give notice to his kinsmen (that they may arrange the legal -bot[67]). King Athelstan's laws further modify the right of sanctuary; a -thief or robber fleeing to the king or to any church, or to the bishop, is -to have a term of nine days; if he flee to an ealdorman, or an abbot, or a -thane, three days; and he who harbours him longer is to be worthy of the -same penalty as the thief. The king's grith (protection) is to extend from -his burhgate where he is dwelling, on its four sides three miles three -furlongs and three acres breadth, and nine feet nine palms and nine -barley-corns. A law of Canute already quoted (p. 53) assigns different -values of grith (protection) to the different kinds of churches, the grith -bryce (penalty for violation of grith) of a chief minster is L5; of a -minster of the middle class, 120_s._, and of one yet less where there is a -small parish (lytel [thorn]eo[thorn]ethom, in the laws of Henry I.), provided there be a -burial-place, 60_s._, and of a field-church, where there is no -burial-place, 30_s._ - -Akin to this privilege of sanctuary is the penalty for acts of violence in -certain places and before certain persons. By the laws of King Ine, if any -man fight in a king's house he shall forfeit all his property; if in a -minster, make bot of 120_s._ By the laws of King Alfred, if a man fight or -draw his weapon before an archbishop he shall make bot of 150_s._; if -before a bishop or an ealdorman, 100_s._ The laws of Alfred enact that if -any man steal from a church he shall restore it and lose his hand, or -redeem his hand at the amount of his "wergild;" it is to be remembered -that churches were used as places of deposit for valuables, and the law -probably is intended to protect these as well as the movables belonging to -the church itself. - -The laws of Wihtred of Kent make the word of a king or a bishop -incontrovertible without an oath; a priest, like a king's thane, is to -clear himself with his own oath at the altar; he is to stand before the -altar in his vestments, and laying his hand upon the altar, to say, -"_Veritatem dico in Christo, non mentior_;"[68] the superior of a -monastery is to make oath like a priest; a clerk, like a "ceorlish man," -to make like oath at the altar, but to have four compurgators. The rank of -a priest as equal to that of a thane is frequently recognized.[69] The -laws of Ine (15 and 19), make the oath of a man who is a communicant worth -twice as much as that of a man who is not. - -It is convenient to gather into one view what the laws say about the -_Tithe and other Payments_ which the people made to the church. The laws -did not then for the first time enact these payments. The first -missionaries had no doubt taught the people that it was the duty of -Christian men to maintain the church and the clergy by tithes and -offerings. If the assertion be true that the people had been accustomed to -pay tithe to their heathen priests, and there is evidence in favour of the -probability, then it came the easier to them.[70] The kings and their -witans, in this as in many other matters, recognized and gave the sanction -of law to existing custom. The payment of tithe was recognized as -obligatory in the Legatine Council of Cealchythe in 785, which being -attended and confirmed by the Kings of Kent, Mercia, Wessex, and -Northumbria, and their ealdormen, had the authority of a Witenagemot, just -at the time that similar measures were being taken in the Frank dominions. -From that time the payment was frequently mentioned in the laws. The laws -of King Alfred define the tithe as of "moving and growing things." The -laws of King Edmund enact that every man pay tithe, church scot, Rome fee, -and plough-alms on pain of excommunication. The laws of Edgar define to -whom the payment shall be made, viz. to the old minster to which the -district belongs; a thane who has a church at which there is a -burial-place, may pay a third of his tithe to his own priest; if the -thane's church is without a burial-place, he is to pay his tithe to the -minster, and church scot and plough-alms are also to be paid to the -minster, and the thane may pay to his priest what he will. They also -recite the times at which these payments are to be made on penalty of the -full "wite" (fine to the king) which the Doom-book specifies. They also -prescribe a process for the recovery of tithe; the king's reeve and the -bishop's reeve, with the priest of the minster to whom it is due, are to -take the tithe by force, and the rest is to be forfeited half to the king -and half to the bishop, whether the defaulter be a king's man or a -thane's. The payment of the "hearth penny" (St. Peter's penny) is to be -enforced by a very curious process: the defaulter is to be taken to -Rome--perhaps it means to the house of the pope's agent, for the -collection of Peter pence--and, in addition to what is due, is to pay -30_d._, and bring a certificate of the payment, and then is to forfeit -120_s._ to the king; if he refuse, he is to be taken again to Rome, and on -his return to forfeit 200_s._; and if he still refuse, he is to forfeit -all that he has. The severity of the enactment suggests the question -whether there was at that time on the part of some persons a special -unwillingness to pay the "penny of St. Peter." - - * * * * * - -The _religious observance of Sunday_ was the subject of frequent -enactments. The third of the laws of Ine enacts that if a theow work on -Sunday by his lord's command, the theow shall be exempt from penalty, but -his lord shall pay 30_s._; if the theow work of his own accord (since he -has no money), he shall "pay with his skin," _i.e._ shall be scourged. If -a free man work on that day without his lord's command, he shall forfeit -his freedom or pay 60_s._; a priest offending shall be liable to a double -penalty. The laws of Wihtred of Kent contain enactments to the same -effect. The laws of Alfred encourage the observance of other holy days by -the enactment that "to all free men these days be given" (_i.e._ free men -are not to be required by their lords to work on these days): twelve days -at the Nativity, Good Friday--"the day on which Christ conquered the -devil," St. Gregory's day, seven days before Easter and seven days after, -St. Peter's day and St. Paul's day, in autumn a full week before the -festival of St. Brice (Nov. 13), one day before All Saints, and the four -Wednesdays in the four fasting (Ember) weeks. The law does not free -theowes from work on these days, but suggests to their masters to give -them, in God's name, such relaxation from work on such of these days as -they shall deserve. The laws of Edgar define that Sunday is to be kept -from noontide of Saturday till dawn of Monday. At the Council of Eynsham -(1009), it was further enjoined that there be no markets or folk motes -(the laws of Canute also forbid hunting) on Sundays; that all St. Mary's -feast tides be honoured with those of every apostle, and Fridays be kept -as a fast. Festivals of English saints were from time to time added to the -Kalendar. We have seen that the Council of Clovesho (747), decreed the -observance of days in honour of St. Gregory and St. Augustine. In the -decrees of the Council of Enysham we find: "The witan have chosen that St. -Edward's mass day shall be celebrated all over England on the XV. Kal. -Apr." (March 18). The laws of Canute repeat the obligation of the previous -holy days, and after mention of the witan's appointment of a festival of -St. Edward, add a festival of St. Dunstan on XIV. Kal. Junias (May 19). - - * * * * * - -_Slavery_ was a recognized institution of the society of those times. The -class of "theowmen" was probably made up partly of conquered Britons and -their descendants, partly of captives taken in the mutual wars of the -heptarchic kingdoms, partly of freemen who had been condemned to this -penalty for their crimes or incurred it by poverty. A prominent feature of -the influence of Christianity was the encouragement it gave to masters to -treat their theowes with kindness, and its success in promoting their -manumission as an action well-pleasing to God. Several of the codes of law -deal with the subject. We have seen already how the legislation on the -observance of Sundays and holy days did not go so far as to interfere with -the right of the masters, but did invite them, for the love of God, to -give their theowes some relaxation of labour on the great festivals of the -Church. A law of Wihtred, King of Kent, defines that if any one give -freedom to his man at the altar, he shall be folk-free, though it retains -to the freedom-giver the heritage and wergild and mund of his family. A -law of Ine enacts that he who sells over sea his own countryman, bond or -free, though he be guilty, shall pay according to his wer. - -A law of Alfred enacts that if any man buy a Christian slave, he shall -serve for six years, and on the seventh he shall go out as he came in, -with the same clothes, etc.; if he came in with a wife he shall go out -with her, but if the lord have given him a wife, she and her children -shall still belong to the lord. A law of Ethelred (978-1016) enacts that a -slave (uncondemned) shall not be sold out of the country. - -The Church set the example of the manumission of its slaves.[71] At the -Council of Cealchithe (816) it was unanimously agreed that each prelate at -his death should bequeath one-tenth of his personal property to the poor, -and set at liberty all bondsmen of English descent whom his Church had -acquired during his administration, and that each bishop and abbot who -survived him should manumit three of his slaves, and give 3_s._ to each. -The laity followed the example. In the English wills published by -Thorpe[72] a considerable number occur in which the testator gives freedom -to serfs, _e.g._ Queen AEthelflaed sets free half of her men in every vill; -Wynflaed gives a long list of serfs by name who are to be freed, and the -freedom of penal serfs is given in nine other wills. - -Still the institution continued. At the end of the Saxon period, a -thriving trade in the export of English slaves was carried on at Bristol, -till Bishop Wulstan put an end to it. The Twenty-ninth Canon of the Synod -of Westminster, held under Anselm in 1102, enacted that there should be no -buying and selling of men in England as heretofore, as if they were kine -or oxen. But this did not put a stop to it. Slaves were bought and sold by -Church dignitaries as late as the fourteenth century, as we shall see in a -later chapter, and the status of serfdom continued to the sixteenth -century. - -[Illustration: Coronation of Harold by Archbishop Stigand. Bayeux -tapestry.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE NORMAN CONQUEST. - - -One immediate result of the Norman conquest was that Archbishop Stigand -and several other bishops and abbots were ejected, and foreign -ecclesiastics put in their place. It is not necessary to suppose that -William acted solely on the desire to put men devoted to his interests -into these positions of power and influence, for Edward the Confessor had -already appointed some foreign bishops with the object of raising the tone -of learning and religion in the English Church; and all William's nominees -were men of character, learning and practical ability. The removal of some -of the sees from unimportant villages to the principal town of the diocese -was a wise measure. It is said that some of the Norman bishops desired to -make the further improvement of replacing the monks, where they existed, -in their cathedrals, by canons, but were thwarted by Lanfranc.[73] - -The parochial clergy seem to have been left undisturbed in their -benefices; only, as the benefices fell vacant in the usual course of -things, the new Norman lords of the manor, who had in so many cases -supplanted the old Saxon thanes, not unnaturally appointed relatives or -countrymen of their own to at least the more valuable of the parochial -benefices in their gift. - -The Norman conquest of England opened up this country more fully to the -influence of the political and religious life of the Continent. The -patriarchal authority of the Roman see had long since been acknowledged by -the Saxon Church, but hitherto had very rarely intervened and as seldom -been appealed to; henceforward it was to become a much more important -factor both in the political and ecclesiastical life of this country. The -foreign bishops appointed by Edward the Confessor and William, and the -foreign parsons introduced by the new lords into their parishes, brought -with them the Hildebrandine theories of the relations of the Pope to the -Church and to the State. William sought to limit the exercise of the Papal -authority in his new kingdom by a decree that the Pope should send no -legates and no bulls without the consent of the Crown, and that his own -subjects should make no appeal to Rome without the Crown's permission. -But, in fact, a considerable change gradually took place in the practical -relations of the English Church to the Roman see. The Saxon Church had -been isolated, the bishops and clergy had been eminently a national -clergy, with practically no one above them and no one between them and -their flocks. The appearance of two legates at the synod of Winchester -(1070), which deprived Stigand the archbishop, and, by consequence, -several bishops of his consecration, was the beginning of a series of very -important interventions of the Pope for good and for evil, which, together -with the multiplication of appeals to Rome, modified very much the -previous practically autonomous condition of the English Church. Another -important change was made by the separation of the civil and -ecclesiastical Courts determined upon by William "in the common council, -and by the advice of all the bishops and abbots, and all the princes of -his kingdom." It abrogated the old Saxon custom set forth in the laws of -Canute (1016-1035),[74] that the bishop should sit with the sheriff in the -shire mote, and assist in the administration of justice and the -determination of causes; and enacted that, for the future, civil causes -should be determined by the secular judge; while, on the other hand, no -lay judge should interfere in the laws which belong to the bishop, or in -any causes which belong to the cure of souls. The results went further -than perhaps William had foreseen. One result was the setting up of -independent courts of ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all clerical -persons, down to the lowest of the men in minor orders, and in all -religious cases, including matrimonial and testamentary causes and -questions of oaths. This made the whole body of the clergy a privileged -class under a law and judges of their own, and this privilege the Church -maintained successfully against the endeavour of Henry II. to bring the -clergy under the jurisdiction of the King's Courts, and continued down to -the "submission of the clergy" in the reign of Henry VIII. With this brief -general review of the constitutional changes effected at the time of the -Norman Conquest we proceed to our more humble task of noting the history -of the parochial clergy and of their flocks. - -[Illustration: Durham Cathedral.] - -The new men, military adventurers though they were, among whom the Norman -conqueror had divided the lands of England, did not, like the Anglo-Saxon -conquerors, trample out Christianity under their feet; nor, like the Danes -in their turn, plunder the monasteries and churches; on the contrary, the -Normans behaved like Christian men who, having come into power in a -country which was in a backward religious condition, set themselves to -effect religious improvements in their newly acquired possessions. Every -bishop set to work to rebuild his cathedral church, or to build a new one -in the place to which his see had been removed. This leads to the -inference that the old Saxon cathedrals were comparatively small, in an -inferior style of architecture, and perhaps out of repair. Many of the -lords of manors seem to have rebuilt the parish churches, and to have -built new churches in remote parts of their estates.[75] The bishops also -made provision for the spiritual wants of the people more especially -dependent upon them; Lanfranc, for example, built two churches and two -hospitals in Canterbury, and erected several churches in the manors -belonging to the archbishopric. - -If we consider the way in which the landed property of the kingdom was -resettled after the Conquest, each great tenant of the Crown subdividing -his vast estates among the lesser lords who had fought under his banner, -we shall see the likelihood that each of these new lords of manors, as -soon as the country had settled down in tranquillity, would set himself to -make the best of his new acquisitions; to add to their value by breaking -up new waste land; to consult his dignity and comfort by improving upon -the rude old hall of his Saxon predecessor, or building himself a new -manor house. If his manor had only a chapel with imperfect privileges, he -would not be content without obtaining for it the status of an -independent parish; and the Norman taste for building would lead him to -replace the rude timber chapel by a stone church in the improved style of -architecture which had lately been introduced. In some cases the new lord -built himself a manor house on a new site at a distance from the old one, -and a church near to it, and adopted the new church as the parish church, -leaving the old one to serve as a chapel to those who lived near it.[76] A -great number of village churches in nearly all parts of England still -remain, in whole or in part, whose architectural characteristics show that -they are of about this period. Ordericus Vitalis, the historian of the -conqueror's sons, says[77] that especially in the reign of Henry I.,[78] -by the fervent devotion of the faithful, the houses and temples built by -Edgar and Edward, and other Christian kings, were taken down to be -replaced with others of greater magnitude and more elegant workmanship, to -the glory of the Creator. - -[Illustration: Old Shoreham Church, Sussex.] - -The life of Orderic himself supplies an example. His father was a priest, -a man of some learning, who had come over at the Norman Conquest in the -train of Roger of Montgomery, afterwards created Earl of Shrewsbury, and -received from his lord lands on the Meole, three miles east of Shrewsbury. -He found on this estate of Atcham, a chapel built of timber dedicated to -S. Eata, and replaced it by one of stone. He had his son Orderic baptized -by the Saxon priest of the parish, who also stood as his sponsor, and gave -his own name (sometimes spelt Ulricus) to the child. At the age of five -years, he entrusted the child to the care of a priest named Siward, to be -taught the first rudiments of learning; and five years afterwards, on the -death of his noble patron, he devoted both himself and his son to the -monastic life in the monastery at Shrewsbury, which the earl had lately -founded.[79] - - * * * * * - -The greatest ecclesiastical work of the Normans was, however, the revival -of the monastic system, and the filling of the country with noble and -wealthy monasteries. The ascetic spirit had been revived in Italy and -France by Odo of Clugny, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and others, who -had founded new orders of the Benedictine and Augustinian rules. The -Norman nobles brought this new enthusiasm with them; and just as in the -early Saxon period every thane thought it incumbent upon him to build a -parish church on his estate, so now it became almost a fashion for every -great noble to found a monastery upon his lordship. The nobles, while -thinking first of the glory of God, and the spiritual advantages of the -prayers of a holy community for the founder, his family and descendants, -were conscious also of the dignity which a monastery reflected upon the -family which founded and patronized it, and not insensible to the temporal -advantages of the establishment of a centre of civilization and religion -in the midst of their dependents. - -[Illustration: Norman bishops and abbots. (From the twelfth century MS.)] - -William led the way by his foundation of a great Benedictine abbey on the -field of his victory at Hastings, to which was given the name of Battle -Abbey. William of Warrenne built a priory at Lewes (1077), into which he -introduced the new Cluniac Order. The canons regular of St. Augustine were -introduced into England at Colchester c. 1100; the Cistercians at Waverley -in Surrey, in 1128; the Carthusians at Witham in Somerset in 1180; and by -the end of the twelfth century religious houses of various orders had been -founded in every part of the country. We have seen that at the end of the -Saxon period there were only about fifty religious houses in England; -under William and his two successors upwards of 300 new ones were founded. - -The religious fervour of the monks, who abandoned the world and practised -self-denial as a means to spiritual perfection and closer communion with -God, naturally excited awed admiration; the picturesque surroundings of -their profession, the frock and hood, the shaven head and mortified -countenance, the hard life of the cloister and the manifold services in -the church, impressed the imagination; and consequently the popularity of -the monks threw the secular clergy into the shade. The great churches of -the monasteries rivalled the cathedrals in magnitude and splendour; the -great abbots--relieved by the pope from the jurisdiction of their bishops, -exercising themselves jurisdiction over their own estates, summoned to -parliament, wealthy and learned--were the rivals of the bishops; and the -"lord monks" held a higher rank in public estimation than the parish -rectors. The importance of the political part they played in the life of -the Middle Ages was hardly, perhaps, commensurate with the space they -occupied in it. The Benedictines cultivated learning, and the Cistercians -were enterprising agriculturists; the Augustinian orders were useful as -preachers in the towns, and managers of hospitals; the nunneries of -various orders were schools for the daughters of the gentry; they were all -citadels of religion and learning over the length and breadth of the land; -but from the point of view of public utility, abbots and monks seldom took -any important part in the political events which made history, or were -employed in the administration of the government, or made their mark as -men of learning, as the bishops and secular clergy did in every -generation. - - * * * * * - -The principal relation between the monasteries and the parish priests is -a sinister one; when the popularity of the monks waned, and the secular -clergy in the thirteenth century regained the confidence of the people, -the mischief was already done which has never been undone. Nearly half the -parishes of England had been stripped of the best part of their -endowments, in order to found and enrich the monasteries; but a small -portion was rescued from their hands by the bishops on the reaction of the -thirteenth century; the rest the monks retained till the Reformation of -the sixteenth century; and then it was swallowed up by the king and his -new nobility. But the history of the impropriation of benefices, and the -subsequent foundation of perpetual vicarages, requires a chapter to -itself. - -[Illustration: ORDINATION OF A PRIEST. FROM THE LATE XII. CENT. DRAWING, -HARL. ROLL, Y 6.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE FOUNDATION OF VICARAGES. - - -The Norman founders of monasteries not only gave to them lands and moneys, -but also the parish churches, of which they had the advowson. It can -hardly be said that in so doing they gave what was not theirs to give, for -the idea was still prominent in men's minds that the church which a -landlord or his antecessor had built for himself and his people was, in a -sense, his church, and that he was at liberty (as he is to this day) to -give his rights in it to some one else; moreover, the ancient custom of -assigning the tithe of his lands to various religious uses, at the owner's -discretion, was still not obsolete,[80] so that the assignment of part of -the tithe away from the parish in which it was raised to a religious -community at a distance shocked no one's conscience. Already before the -Conquest, in France, the admirers of the new monastic orders had largely -adopted the practice of endowing the new religious houses which they -founded with the parochial benefices in their patronage; and the practice -had found some imitators in England.[81] The Norman lords, between their -thank offerings of English benefices to their monasteries at home, in -Normandy and elsewhere, and their zeal in founding monasteries on their -new English estates and endowing them with their parish churches, in a -very short time bestowed a great number of parochial benefices upon the -religious houses. - -Sometimes a manor was given to a monastery with the appendant advowson of -the rectory, which merely put the religious house in the position of any -other patron; but in such cases the community usually, either at once or -before very long, obtained some share of the income of the benefice, and -ultimately, in most cases, its absolute appropriation.[82] - -But in the more usual case the benefice was given to the religious house -in such a way that the community became the "rector" of the parish, with, -on one hand, all the responsibility of the cure of souls and the -maintenance of the charities and hospitalities of the parish, and, on the -other hand, with possession of all the endowments, fees, rights, and -privileges of the rector. It is only charitable to suppose that the lords -of manors, who thus gave over their advowsons, thought that they were -doing two good things: first, putting the spiritual interests of the -parishioners into the hands of men of superior unworldliness and -spirituality, who would do better for them than the old squire-rectors and -their hired chaplains; and secondly, devoting the surplus revenues of the -benefices to the maintenance of religious organizations, which would use -them to the glory of God and the spiritual profit of the people in many -ways. These benefices were called appropriate benefices, from the -customary phrase used in their conveyance, _ad proprios usus_ of the abbot -and the community. - -The spiritual duties of the parish were sometimes served by one of the -community in holy orders, or by a cleric attached to the house; sometimes -by a stipendiary priest who was paid according to private agreement, and -dismissed at pleasure. - -A short experience showed that the monks told off to take charge of these -appropriate parishes did not generally make very efficient parish -priests--how, indeed, should they? The pastoral work of a parish requires -other qualities, ideas, sympathies, than those which are proper to the -cloister. And, on the other hand, it was soon found that where clerks were -employed to fulfil the parochial duties, the parishes were under the -disadvantages--with which some of us are well acquainted in these days--of -one supplied during a vacancy by temporary help; the clerk had no status -in the parish, and no permanent interest in it. In both cases it was found -that the duties were often perfunctorily performed, and that the spiritual -life of the parish languished. - -[Illustration: Abbot presenting clerk for ordination. (Harl. MS., 1527.)] - -At the great national synod of Westminster, held by Anselm in 1102, which -was attended by some of the lay nobles, an attempt was made to mitigate -the evil. It was decreed (canon 21) that monks should not possess -themselves of parish churches without the sanction of the bishop, and that -they should not take so much of the profits of appropriate parishes as to -impoverish the priests officiating therein. But the evil continued and -increased until the Court of Rome took up the question and lent its -authority to the movement. A decree of the Lateran Council in 1179 forbade -the religious to receive tithes from the laity without the consent of the -bishops, and empowered the bishops to make proper provision for the -spiritual work of the appropriate parishes. The English bishops, -strengthened by the Papal authority, set themselves to provide a remedy. -This took the form of the foundation of Perpetual Vicarages in the -appropriated parishes. The bishop required that the convent, instead of -serving the parochial cure by one of the brethren, or by a clerk living in -the monastery, or by a chaplain resident in the parish on such a stipend -as the convent chose to give, and removable at pleasure, should nominate a -competent parish priest, to the satisfaction of the bishop, who was to -institute him as perpetual vicar. His title of "Vicarius" implied that he -was the representative of the rector; his tenure was permanent and -independent; he was answerable to the bishop, and to him only, for the -proper fulfilment of his duties; and the bishop required that out of the -revenues of the parish a house and such a portion should be assigned for a -perpetual endowment as would enable the vicar of the parish to maintain -his position in decent comfort.[83] - -The pecuniary arrangement usually made was that the small tithes--"_i.e._ -the tithes of every kind except of corn--and the customary offerings and -fees, were assigned to the vicar; while the religious house took the -'great tithes,' _i.e._ the tithe of corn." Sometimes the vicar took the -whole revenue of the parish of all kinds, and paid a fixed yearly sum of -money to the appropriators. Sometimes the community took the revenue, and -gave the vicar a fixed sum.[84] There was an appeal open to both sides if -it turned out that the original agreement seemed, on experience of its -working, to be inequitable; and there are many cases in which vicars did -appeal, and obtained an augmentation of their incomes. - -A canon of Otho, 1237, required that a man instituted into a vicarage -should be a deacon at least, and proceed to take priest's orders in the -course of his first year. - -The details of a few special cases will illustrate these general -statements, and will help to admit us into the inner life of the mediaeval -parishes from a new point of view, and so increase the knowledge we are -seeking of the day-by-day religious life of the parish priests and their -people. - -Thurstan, son of Wini, in the time of King Edward the Confessor, gave the -Manor of Harlow to the great monastery of St. Edmund, recently restored by -Canute; with the manor the church appendant to it; the convent nominated -to the rectory as any other patron would do, until Pope Boniface IX.--for -the monastery claimed exemption from episcopal jurisdiction, and regarded -no one but the Pope himself as its superior--gave the abbot licence to -appropriate the church, and to provide for the cure of the parish either -by one of the monks or by a secular priest as the abbot should think fit. - -In 1398 the abbot, in obedience to the canons, was willing to have a -vicarage appointed for the well-being of the parishioners; the vicar was -to have the _mansum_ of the rectory for his residence, and the tithe of -all sorts of things, except the tithe of corn. It is worth while to give -the list of the tithes allotted to the vicar, as an example once for all -of what was included under the comprehensive name of small tithes, viz. of -wool, lambs, calves, pigs, and geese; pears, apples, and other fruits of -trees and orchards; flax, hemp, fallen wood, wax, honey and cheese; -besides the tithes of a mill and a pigeon-house, and a money payment of -4_s._ 8-1/4_d._ a year, which probably was an existing composition for -payment in kind or some small endowment for lights or what not. Then come -some further stipulations. Seeing that the substitution of a poor vicar -for a wealthy rector might affect the customary charities, the abbot was -to pay 10_s._ a year to the parishioners to be distributed to the -poor,[85] in compensation for any damage to them by means of the -appropriation. Also the vicar was to pay a marc (13_s._ 4_d._) to the -Bishop of London in lieu of certain profits which the see would lose by -the new arrangement.[86] - -St. Hugh of Lincoln is said to have settled the vicarage of Swynford, -Lincolnshire, in 1200, an early example. His successor, William of Blois -(1203-1209), as one of the earliest acts of his episcopate, required the -Canons of Dunstable to endow a vicarage for their church of Pullokeshull -with the altar dues, ten acres of land, and a third of the tithes. From -the register of his successor, Hugh of Wells (1209-1235), it appears that -three hundred vicarages were ordained in his long episcopate. In 1220 he -made a visitation of Dunstable Priory, and made the monks settle vicarages -in five of their churches. The Pope gave his successor, Bishop Grostete -(1235-1254), authority to visit the exempt[87] orders, and to make them -endow vicarages for their churches. - -And what the Bishops of Lincoln were doing in their vast diocese, other -bishops were also doing all up and down the country; the episcopal -registers abound in records of these "taxations," as they were called.[88] -We take two or three examples from the register of Walter de Gray, -Archbishop of York, 1215-1256. - -The name of Kirkby Malamdale shows that it was an ancient parish. A -charter of King John confirmed the gift of it by Adam Fitz Adam to the -canons of West Dereham in Norfolk, _quod suos in usus convertant proprios, -salva tamen decenti et honorifica administratione ejus ecclesiae_. The -abbot and canons appear, however, to have failed to fulfil the provisions -stipulated for in the charter, for Archbishop Walter de Gray, in 1250, -peremptorily summoned them "to appear before him on the morrow of the -Lord's Day on which is sung _Laetare Jerusalem_ (fourth in Lent), wherever -in his diocese he should happen to be, to show how the vicarage was -endowed and under what authority, taking notice that whether they were -present or not, if it should appear to be insufficient, he should proceed -to augment it both by the apostolic authority (_i.e._ of the Apostolic -See) and by his own."[89] - -These arrangements were (as has been said) universally subject to future -modification. For example, in settling the Vicarage of Gerneby (Granby), -which was in the presentation of the Prior and Convent of Thurgarton, -Notts, the archbishop describes what the vicar is to have, and concludes -that the Prior and Convent are to have the residue, "unless it should -appear that an augmentation is needed."[90] Appeals from vicars for an -augmentation are not infrequent; for example, "Magister Orlandus, the -perpetual vicar of Cunigbur (Conisborough), having urged against the prior -and Convent of Lewes that his vicarage be taxed (= surveyed and valued and -dealt with), we do so. The corn tithe, demesne lands and meadow of the -church, and the tenants' rents to belong to the prior and convent; the -lesser tithes, etc., with two tofts, which we have assigned for a manse, -to belong to the vicar."[91] - -In the ordination of the churches of Dalton, Urswick, Millum and Kirkby -Ireleth belonging to Furness Abbey, the archbishop orders that Dalton -shall be a vicarage of 15 marks, Urswick shall continue as it is, the -mediety of Millum the abbot and convent shall retain _ad proprios usus_, -and the other mediety of Millum and Kirkby and its chapels shall be at his -own disposition; and that each mediety of Millum shall have a vicarage of -15 marks. - -In the ordination of the churches belonging to the prior and canons of St. -Oswald of Nostell, he says, that in consideration of the poverty and -religious and honourable life of the prior and canons, he gives, grants, -and confirms to them in pure and perpetual alms a pension of 20 marks of -silver a year from the church of South Kirkby, which is in their advowson; -and a pension of 15 marks from Tikhill, which is in their advowson. A -little later, making a new ordination of the churches of Tikhill, South -Kirkby, Rowell (Rothwell), Bouelton (Bolton), Wyverthorpe, and the mediety -of Mekesburgh (Mexborough), he orders, that in the chapel of Slayneton (in -the parish of Tikhill), since it has a baptistery and a cemetery on -account of its distance from the mother church, there shall be a perpetual -vicar, who for the maintenance of himself and of the lights and other -necessaries of the chapel, shall have the whole altarage of Slayneton, -with the lands belonging to the said chapel. The Vicar of South Kirkby -shall have with him a fellow-priest (_socium sacerdotum_). The Vicar of -Rothwell, for the maintenance of himself and a fellow-priest, shall have -all the altarage with a competent manse. He assigns to the Church of York -for ever the Church of Wyverthorpe (with the reservation of competent -vicars), and both the mother church and the chapel of Helperthorpe; and he -appoints that in the mother church of Wyverthorpe there shall be a -perpetual resident priest vicar, with 24 marks a year, and in the chapel -of Helperthorpe, on account of its distance from the mother church, there -shall be a resident priest vicar, who for his sustenance and that of his -clerks, that he may the more fully and honourably serve the said chapel, -shall have 10 marks yearly. - -In the ordination of the churches of Sherburn, Fenton, and St. Maurice, in -York, which were appropriate to one of the prebendaries of York, he -decrees that each shall have a perpetual vicar with cure of souls, who -shall sustain the burden of their churches and their chapels; the Vicar of -Sherburn to have the altarage of the church and its chapels, and pay to -the canon 35 marks sterling a year; the Vicar of Fenton shall have all the -altarage, paying 6 marks to the canon; and the Vicar of St. Maurice in -Monkgate, York, shall pay 4 marks. - -In the register of Bishop Bronscombe of Exeter (1258-1280) there are -frequent records of the assignment of vicarages; in the majority of cases, -the vicar is given a house and the small tithes, and is required to -sustain all due and customary charges. - -The ordination of a vicarage in a parish in which assistant-chaplains had -been used to be employed, often stipulated for their continued employment -and maintenance by the vicar, and often made other conditions as to the -efficient service of the church and parish. For example, in settling the -vicarage of the prebendal church of Sutton, Lincolnshire, 1276, it was -ordained that the vicar should be assisted in the service of the church by -a deacon and a clerk; and that he should maintain six candles and a lamp -in the chancel at his own cost.[92] - - In ordaining a vicarage in St. Mary's Church in 1269, Bishop - Bronscombe, of Exeter, requires that the vicar shall keep with him, at - his own cost, two chaplains who shall serve the chapels in the - parish.[93] Again, in 1283, in constituting a vicarage at Glasney, the - same bishop requires that the vicar, by himself and by two chaplains - maintained at his own cost, shall serve the mother church and its - chapels as has been accustomed to be done.[94] In the following year - the same bishop calls upon the Vicar of Harpford to maintain a - chaplain to serve the Chapel of Fenotery.[95] Bishop Quivil, in 1283, - requires the Vicar of St. Crantoch and St. Columb Minor to maintain a - chaplain for the chapel at his own cost (Quivil's "Register," p. 371). - -In 1327, Walter, Vicar of Yatton, Somerset, one of the prebends of the -Cathedral of Bath and Wells, complained to Bishop Drokensford that he had -not enough for the maintenance of himself and two chaplains. The prebend -was worth a hundred marks and the vicarage ten. The bishop accordingly -assigned to the vicarage a portion of the tithe.[96] Other bishops' -registers, no doubt all of them, contain similar cases.[97] - -In 1439, Archbishop Chichele remarks on the poverty of some vicarages, and -the difficulty the vicars have in obtaining an augmentation of them from -the rectors and proprietors of churches, and orders ordinaries to allow -such vicars to sue _in forma pauperis_, and to take care that they have -not less than twelve marks a year, if the whole value of the living will -extend to so much. - -On the other hand, there were sometimes appeals from the appropriators to -the bishop to diminish the sum assigned to the vicar. For example, the -Rectory of Kettlewell, co. York, was given to Covenham Abbey, and a -vicarage ordained in 1344, on the unusual condition of the assignment to -the vicar of the rectory house, and an annual payment of seven marks; in -1359 a new "taxation" of the vicarage was made, and the money payment -reduced to five marks. The Rectory of Whalley was given to the Abbey of -Stanlaw in 1284, and a vicarage ordained at the same time; in 1340, on the -representation that the endowment of the vicarage was excessive, and that -the religious community were involved in the costly work of building -their new house and church at Whalley, the Bishop of Lichfield -considerably reduced the endowment. - -The monasteries did not always fulfil their obligations. Sometimes they -seem, when a vacancy occurred in the vicarage, to have left it vacant, and -served the parish by one of their own members, or in some cheaper way. To -this abuse a constitution of Othobon was directed, in 1268, which orders -that the religious should present a vicar with competent endowment within -six months, and, if not, the bishop should fill up the vacancy. The monks -of Whalley transgressed in this way from the year c. 1356 onwards by -serving the parish church by one of their number. The abuse, however, -continued, and at length provoked the interference of the Legislature. In -4 Henry IV. the Commons petitioned the king that curates non-resident, -should incur the penalties of praemunire (Rot. Parl.). In the same year a -statute was made providing, _inter alia_, "that henceforth in every church -appropried a secular person be ordained vicar, and that no religious be in -any wise made vicar in any church so appropried." But, unfortunately, no -penalty was attached to a neglect of the law, and therefore it had little -or no effect. Again, in the 10th Henry VI., a bill was proposed by the two -Houses of Parliament requiring that "in every church appropried a secular -person be ordained perpetual vicar, and that if any religious henceforth -suffer a vicarage to be for six months without a resident vicar, the said -church shall be disappropried and disamortized for ever;" but, unhappily, -the king refused his assent to it, and the evil continued.[98] - - * * * * * - -The institution of vicarages, like everything else, was liable to abuses. -One of the abuses was where a rector instituted a vicarage in his own -rectory, thus reserving the greater part of the income of the benefice to -himself as a sinecure, and devolving the labour and responsibility upon -another who received the lesser share. Thus, in the Lichfield Register, in -1328, the Rector of Walton was allowed to have a curate (vicar) on -condition of setting aside for him a house in the parish, the oblations at -the altar and at marriages and churchings, the tithes of a hamlet, and -herbage of church and chapel yards; the curate was to find chaplains for -the chapels, and a deacon at 20_s._ a year for the church.[99] - -Another abuse, forbidden by the Synod of Oxford, in 1223, was for the -parson of a parish to change himself into a vicar, and dispose of the -rectory to another. This synod also ordained that vicars should serve the -cure in person, should be in priests' orders or proceed to them -immediately, and that every presentee should make oath that he had not -given or promised anything or entered into any agreement on account of his -presentation. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -PAROCHIAL CHAPELS. - - -At a rather early period, so the evidence leads us to conclude, all the -great Saxon landowners had founded a religious house or a rectory on their -estates, and these had, first by custom and then by legal recognition of -the custom, obtained certain rights; on one hand, the sole right of -spiritual ministration and pastoral jurisdiction among the people on those -estates; and, on the other hand, to certain payments from them. Many of -these estates were very large in area, embracing what at first were tracts -of uninhabited and uncultivated country. But as population increased, and -new lands were brought under cultivation, the spiritual needs of the new -halls and new hamlets which came into being were supplied by chapels; -these were built sometimes by the munificence of the lord of the whole -estate, sometimes by the pious zeal of the rector who felt himself -responsible for these new parishioners; sometimes by the mesne lord to -whom the land of the new clearing had been granted; sometimes by the -group of farmers whose labour had cleared the forest or broken up the -waste. - -The old Saxon parish priests frequently had one or more chaplains and -clerks living with them and assisting them in their duties;[100] and this -continued to be the case down to the Reformation, the bishops taking such -steps as they could to perpetuate the maintenance of these chaplains. - -When these _chapels_ were erected, care was taken of the rights of the -mother church. Constitutions of Egbert, Archbishop of York in 750, decree -that the mother church shall not be deprived of tithes or other rights by -allotment of them to new chapels. The same is ordered in a council under -King Ethelred, by the advice of his two archbishops, Alfege and Wulfstan. - -Clun, Shropshire, is an example of the great Saxon parishes. In the time -of Richard I., Isabel de Saye gave the church and its chapels to Wenlock -Priory for the safety of her soul and the souls of her husband and son, -her father and mother, and all her ancestors and successors. The chapels -enumerated are at the vill of St. Thomas de Waterdene, de Clumbire, de -Cluntune, de Oppetune, and the chapels de Eggedune and Sebbidune, and all -other chapels and belongings. The donor, however, reserves her free -chapels, viz. the chapel of her castle, and any others.[101] - -Shawbury was a Saxon foundation mentioned in Domesday. A certificate of -Bishop Roger de Clinton (1130-1148) shows that there were then four -villes, viz. of Aston Reynald, Moreton Corbet, Grenvill, and Great -Withyford, and that the bishop consecrated chapels in three of them, there -being one already existing. The bishop decided that such lands and -endowment as the lords of the fees had offered when he consecrated the new -cemeteries were offered to the mother church. The church, with its -chapels, was appropriated to Haughmond Abbey; the canons of Haughmond -being required to present fit chaplains to the Church and assign them a -proper sustenance, the residue they might appropriate to their own uses -and the entertainment of guests.[102] - -[Illustration: Clun Church, Shropshire.] - -At length the multiplication of chapels was regulated by legislation. The -synod of Westminster (1102), under Anselm, decreed that no more should be -erected without the bishop's leave. - -In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the endowment of many of these -chapels, the concession to them of the right of baptism, marriage, and -burial, the assignment of a district within which the priest had pastoral -jurisdiction, and the concession to the mesne lord of the patronage of the -chapel which he had built and endowed, amounted to the practical elevation -of such chapels to the status of parish churches. The natural tendency of -things was in this direction. A landholder who had built a church for -himself and his people would naturally desire that it should possess the -dignity of a parish church, and was thus induced to provide a sufficient -endowment for it. The people would naturally desire the convenience of -having all the means of grace at their own church instead of having to -carry their children to a distance for baptism and their dead for burial, -and in some cases the more well-to-do freeholders would be willing to -contribute to the cost of it. The quotation of some actual examples will -be the most interesting way of illustrating the general history of this -development.[103] - - Domesday speaks of one church in the Hundred of Alnodestreu and County - of Salop, viz. that of St. Gregory. When Bishop Robert de Betun (about - 1138) granted this church to the Abbey of Shrewsbury, St. Gregory's - became the priory church of Momerfeuld, or Morville, and it had three - dependent chapels, which were also appropriated to the priory, viz. at - Billingsley which had as its endowment half the corn tithes of the - said ville and paid 6_s._ 8_d._ to the mother church, at Olbury which - paid 5_s._ and at Tasley which paid 6_s._ 8_d._[104] - - Within a year or two Robert Fitz Aer[105] founded another chapel at - Aston Aer, endowing it with sixty acres and a house and all tithes of - the domain. Within ten years two other such chapels were built, viz. - at Aldenham and Underdon with separate endowments. By the - appropriation deed, which gives St. Gregory and its chapels to the - convent, it is ordained that these chapels shall be subject to the - mother church of Morville, so that on great festivals the people shall - attend there, and the priest of Morville shall, if he pleases, have - the dead carried thither for burial. Again, the same bishop - consecrated a new chapel at Astley Abbots, endowed by the Abbot of - Salop himself with thirty acres, a house, and a parcel of land worth - 4_s._ per ann. - -These seven chapels in one parish, nearly all consecrated by one bishop, -seem to mark a time of active extension. It is curious that, whereas -Orderic Vitalis says that there was much building of monasteries and -churches in the reign of Henry I., because the country had settled down, -after the troubles of the Conquest, into peace and security,[106] Bishop -de Betun says that he has consented to consecrate so many chapels as a -protection for the poor, and out of regard to the warlike troubles of the -time--for it was during the stormy reign of Stephen.[107] - - In many cases the owners of the estates on which the chapels were - situated, or the tenants, or both together, made an agreement with the - rector to augment the stipend of a chaplain so that he might give - additional services and pastoral care in their ville. Thus, when - Gilbert Norman (1130?) gave the church of Kingston-on-Thames to Merton - Priory, the parish had already four chapelries, Thames Ditton, East - Moulsey, Petersham, and Shene (now Richmond). In 1211 the inhabitants - of Petersham complained of the paucity of services in their chapel, - and the matter came before the Ecclesiastical Courts. It would appear - that lack of funds was at the bottom of the deficiency of service. The - prior and convent, "of their great piety, and for the good of the - souls of their parishioners," granted to the vicar and his successors - two quarters of corn, one of barley, and one of oats; and the Abbot - and Convent of Chertsey, who were considerable landowners there, also - of their good will granted a quarter of corn from their lands there, - for the sustentation of a chaplain who should celebrate in the chapel - thrice a week, viz. on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.[108] A like - complaint was made again in 1266, when the appropriators increased - their grant to four quarters of wheat, one of barley, and one of oats; - and seventeen of the parishioners for themselves and heirs granted a - payment of one bushel of wheat for every ten acres of their land, - making twenty-four and a half bushels. Other cases in which the people - themselves contributed to the support of their priest will be found in - the chapter on Chantries. - -Clearly the thing to be desired was to get resident chaplains appointed to -all the villes with a considerable population, and to that end to get -endowments for them, and much was done in this direction in the thirteenth -century. We shall find ample illustrations of various features of the work -in the forty years' episcopate of Archbishop Walter Gray. The archbishop -wrote to the Pope, Gregory IX., on the subject, desiring, no doubt, to get -the support of the Papal sanction for the measures which he desired to -take. We gather from the pope's reply that the archbishop had represented -to him that "many parishes in his diocese were so widely spread that the -parishioners were at a great distance from their church, and were not -able, without much inconvenience, to come to the Divine services; and that -it often happened, when the priest was summoned by the sick, that before -he could arrive they had died without confession and the viaticum;" and -no doubt the archbishop had suggested what he desired to do; whereupon the -pope grants to him leave that, after due consideration of the distance of -places, the difficulties of the roads, and the number of the increasing -population, in parishes of this sort, he should build oratories and -institute priests in them.[109] - -The way in which the archbishop set to work (1233) to strengthen the -existing machinery is admirably illustrated in the ordinance which he drew -up with the concurrence of the dean for the vicarages with their chapels -belonging to the deanery. There were three vicarages, Pocklington, -Pickering, and Kellum. Pocklington had six chapels, Pickering four, and it -does not appear that Kellum had any. First he strengthened the mother -churches by the requirement that each of the vicars should, "besides all -other necessary ministers," have a chaplain--an assistant priest--always -with him. Then he consolidated the six chapels of Pocklington and the four -of Pickering, two and two, into five vicarages, _i.e._ two neighbouring -chapels were formed into a vicarage, the incumbent of which was to have -_in nomine vicaragiae_ certain endowments, and the vicar was to find the -necessary ministers for both chapels; but the dignity of the mother -churches was reserved by the provision that the new vicars were to pay a -small annual sum to their mother churches _nomine subjectionis_.[110] -Another illustration of the way in which the improved condition of things -was brought about is in the case of Roundelay. Sir John de Roundelay and -his heirs and the men of that ville had licence (A.D. 1231) to establish a -perpetual chantry in their chapel every day in the year save Christmas, -Purification, Easter ("Parasceues"), and All Saints, and if they had -service on Palm Sunday, it was to be without procession and the blessing -of the Palms; neither were they to have the celebration of baptism, -marriage, or churching; on all these occasions they were to repair to the -mother church, and the chaplain and people were to swear obedience to the -mother church and its rectors. Sir John provided an endowment for the new -incumbent, and the vicar of the mother church was to give him half a mark -a year (6_s._ 8_d._), in consideration, no doubt, that it had hitherto -been a charge upon him to that extent or more to make provision for the -partial services at the chapel.[111] - -Again, Berneston Chapel, Notts, had been accustomed to have only three -services a week. The people had the archbishop's licence to give an -endowment to provide for having full services in their chapel _pro habendo -plenario servitio_ by a chaplain and clerk residing there.[112] - -There are many other examples in the Archbishop's Register of similar -extensions of the usefulness of the existing ecclesiastical machinery, but -these are enough to show the way in which it was done. There can be no -doubt that the work was done in the same way where it was needed in the -other dioceses of the kingdom. - -There is a curious instance at Stokesay, in Shropshire. Before the -Conquest, the parish church of that estate had been at Aldon, which is -mentioned in Domesday. After the Conquest, the status of parish church had -been given to a new church at Stokesay, on the same estate, and Aldon -Church had been left in the status of a chapel. In 1367, the chief -parishioners of Aldon took proceedings against the vicar, Walter of -Greneburg, for neglecting them, and he was required by the bishop to find -a chaplain to celebrate three days a week--Sunday, Wednesday, and -Friday--except on great festivals.[113] - -The following seems to be an instance of the transition of dependent -chapels into independent parish churches, and an illustration of the way -in which sometimes it came about. At Newnham, Gloucestershire, in 1260, an -inquisition _post mortem_ found that the Rector of Westbury held the -chapels of Newnham and Munstreworth as pertaining to the Church of -Westbury. In 1309, in the Pleas before the King, the jurors declared on -oath that the churches of Newnham and Munstreworth were mother churches -with cure of souls before the time of King Henry III., and in the -presentation of the king. - -Here is an example at Whalley of the way in which great landed proprietors -brought new tracts of their forest and waste under cultivation, and -created new manors. - - In a suit in the reign of Edward III., the jurors found that in the - time of King John there was not in the aforesaid place of Brandwode - any manor or manses, but it was waste, neither built upon nor - cultivated, and was parcel of the aforesaid forest of Penhul [Pendle], - and it is said that in the time of Henry, the ancestor [proavus] of - the present king, the then abbot [of Whalley] built houses on the - aforesaid waste of Brandwode, and caused a great part of the waste to - be enclosed, which is now called the Manor of Brandwode.[114] - -And here is a late example of the people reclaiming waste, and building a -chapel for themselves:-- - - In the end of the fifteenth century the forest of Rossendale was - inhabited only, or chiefly, by foresters and the keepers of the deer. - Upon representation to King Henry VII., and afterwards to Henry VIII., - that if the deer were taken away, the forest was likely to come to - some good purpose, it was disafforested, and let forth in divers - sorts, some for a term of years, some by copy of Court Roll; so that - where there was nothing else but deer and other savage and wild - beasts, by the industry of the inhabitants, there is since grown to be - very fertile ground well replenished with people. And inasmuch as the - Castle Church of Clitheroe, being their parish church, was distant - twelve miles, and the ways very foul, painful, and perilous, and the - country in the winter season so extremely and vehemently cold, that - infants borne to the church are in great peril of their lives, and the - aged and impotent people and women great with child not able to travel - so far to hear the Word of God, and the dead corpses like to remain - unburied till such time as great annoyance to grow thereby, the - inhabitants about 1512, at their proper costs, made a chapel-of-ease - in the said forest; since the disafforesting of the said forest from - eighty persons there are grown to be a thousand young and old. At the - same time, one Lettice Jackson, a widow, vested in feoffees certain - lands for the use of the new church of our Saviour in Rossendale. The - population seems to have continued to increase, for, thirty years - afterwards, the people founded and edified a chapel in Morell Height - in honour of God, our Blessed Lady and All Saints.[115] - -We have seen that the law carefully safeguarded the rights of the mother -churches, as against the new chapels which sprang up. The Church also was -careful to maintain their dignity in a way which calls for some remark. -The curate of a chapel, on his institution, made a vow of reverence and -obedience to his rector. Very generally some small payment was required -from the chapelry to the rector _in nomine subjectionis_, as an -acknowledgment of dependence. The people of the chapelries were required -on several of the great festivals of the Church to communicate at the -mother church, and on one or more of these festivals to visit the mother -church in procession with flags flying. - -There was another custom, very like this, on a larger scale, viz. the -custom for the parishioners of all the parishes of a diocese to visit the -cathedral church in procession on a given day in the year. This seems to -have been a very old custom, for which Sir R. Phillimore quotes the -Council of Agde and the Decretum of Gratian,[116] and suggests that it -was probably introduced into England at the Norman Conquest. We find it -enjoined in the canons of several Diocesan Councils; and it is tolerably -certain that it was a general custom. - -We suggest that the idea at the back of these customs was not merely that -the offerings of the people of the chapelries should not be lost to the -rector of the mother church on the three great days of offering; and that -the cathedral should receive a yearly tribute from every subject of the -bishop. We suggest that the purpose of the custom was to maintain the idea -of the unity of the Church. The chapels had received their Christianity -from the mother church, and all the "houseling people" in recognition of -it worshipped there three times a year. The mother churches received their -Christianity from the bishop's see, and were his spiritual subjects, and -once a year went up in procession to worship at the cathedral as an act of -homage. And these reunions would, in fact, promote the idea of brotherly -communion and Christian unity, as the attendance of the Israelites on the -three great festivals at their one temple in Jerusalem tended to maintain -the national unity of the people as the people of God. - -Nothing is free from abuse. We learn from the Register of Bishop Storey, -of Chichester, that in 1478 the people who came yearly to visit the shrine -of St. Richard on his commemoration day (April 3), had been accustomed to -carry long painted wands, and in struggles for precedence had used these -wands upon one another's heads and shoulders; wherefore the bishop -directs that in future they shall, instead of wands, carry banners and -crosses, that the several parishes shall march up reverently from the west -door of the cathedral in a prescribed order, of which notice should be -given by the incumbents in their churches on the Sunday preceding the -festival. - - * * * * * - -Royal chapels were, on no sound ecclesiastical principle, but by an -exercise of the royal prerogative, from an early period held to be outside -any episcopal jurisdiction.[117] For example, a series of churches along -the old Mercian border, Stone, Stafford, and Gnosall, Penkridge and -Wolverhampton, Tettenhall, as having been built by King Wulfhere, or by -Elfleda, the Lady of Mercia, claimed exemption from all control. Clinton -Bishop of Lichfield (1129-48) tried to bring them under his rule by -purchasing them of the king, and annexing them bodily to the possessions -of his see but that did not hinder them from still claiming their ancient -privileges. - -The lawyers[118] say that the king may by charter license a subject to -build a free chapel similarly free from the jurisdiction of the ordinary, -but they are not able to quote any instances of it. Some barons, however, -did claim freedom from jurisdiction for the chapels of certain castles; -perhaps on the ground that the castles were royal castles, and that they -held or had received them from the crown with all their privileges and -exemptions. For example, the chapel of St. Mary, in the castle at -Hastings, enlarged, if not founded, soon after the Conquest, by the Count -of Eu, for a dean and ten prebendaries, was claimed by successive lords of -the castle to be a free chapel; and in spite of repeated attempts by the -bishops of Chichester to assert their rights, the privilege was -successfully maintained till the fifteenth century. - -A number of chapels were called free chapels, apparently because they were -free from subjection to the mother church of the parish. We have already -seen that the free chapels, built for the convenience of outlying groups -of population, were at first served by chaplains from the mother church; -then the chaplains nominated by the rector resided at the chapelries; and -when the chapels were endowed and assigned districts, and obtained the -rights of baptism, marriage, and burial, still the patronage to the -chapelries was in the rector, and the sentiment of subjection to the -mother church was carefully kept up by the payment of a pension from the -one to the other, and the custom of a procession to the service of the -mother church on one or more great occasions. But in some cases a chapel -became freed from this subjection by the action of the neighbouring -squire, who, by purchase or agreement, obtained special rights over it; or -some private patron built and endowed a new chapel with the stipulation -for certain rights. We have seen that, when Isabel de Saye gave the -parish of Clun and all its chapels to Wenlock Priory, the donor reserved -her free chapels. - -Here is an instance of a chapel which is called a free chapel, but was -technically a chantry, and clearly intended to serve also as a -chapel-of-ease to the town in which it was situated. - - In 1309, Edward Lovekyn, of Kingston-on-Thames, had leave to build a - chapel there, and endow it with lands and rent. Robert Lovekyn, his - brother and successor, withheld some of the income, and was compelled - to restore it by threat of excommunication with bell and candle. In - 1352, John Lovekyn rebuilt the chapel and increased the endowment for - the sustentation of one or more additional chaplains, one to be warden - (it does not appear that there ever were more than the warden and one - brother), who had a manse. The rules and ordinances are given at - length in the book from which we quote. They were to live together in - the manse, with separate sleeping rooms, and a common table. The - warden was to provide suitable provision, and give to each brother a - gown of the same kind which he wore, and forty silver shillings a year - for his other necessaries. The warden was also to provide a clerk to - serve mass and wait upon the chaplains in their rooms; and to provide - honest surplices and amyces furred with black fur to wear in chapel. - The warden to be always in residence, and not to take any other cure; - not to give or sell any corrody; the warden might have guests at - table; if any other had a guest, he was to pay 3_d._ for his dinner - and 2_d._ for any other meal.[119] Masses to be said for the founder - and his family, and also to grace after dinner was to be added, "May - the souls of John Edward and Robert Lovekyn, our founders, and of the - Lord William, Bishop of Winchester, and all faithful deceased, rest in - peace through the mercy of God." On the four principal feasts the - chaplains were to attend the parish church and make their offerings - like other parishioners. In consideration that John Lovekyn gave a - manse to the vicarage, his chapel was to have all oblations which came - to it.[120] - - The calendar of the chapels, chantries, etc., at the time of the - Reformation, mentions 432 chapels, of which 198 are called "free - chapels." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE PARISH PRIEST--HIS BIRTH AND EDUCATION. - - -The early Saxon bishops were very often men of royal and noble families. -The religious houses, which were the centres of evangelization in the -early missionary phase of the history, were often founded by royal and -noble persons, who were not seldom themselves the first abbots and -abbesses, and handed down their houses and offices as hereditary -possessions. The parish churches were founded by the lords of the land, -who made the advowson appendant to the manor, and very usually brought up -a younger son to be the spiritual rector of the family estate. The natural -result of all this would be that a large proportion of the Saxon clergy -would be men of good family; not by any means exclusively, for we have -seen that even slaves[121] were sometimes admitted to Holy Orders, and we -have read[122] a kindly warning to priests of noble birth not to despise -their brethren of humbler origin; and the law assigned to every -priest--_qua_ priest--the rank of thane (p. 77). - -We know that the founders of the English churches established schools, and -finding their converts apt pupils, soon raised up a learned native clergy. -The young men intended for the pastoral office were taught the learning -and trained in the ascetic discipline of these monastic schools.[123] - -The natural result would be that the Saxon clergy would not only be -generally of good birth and breeding, but also religious, learned, and -capable men; the natural spiritual rulers, teachers, and protectors of the -population of freemen, villeins, and serfs who peopled the estate of which -the civil lord and ruler was often the rector's father or brother. - -The Norman Conquest introduced confusion for a time into both monasteries -and parishes. Norman abbots intruded into the religious houses, sometimes -quarrelled with the Saxon monks, and the first inhabitants of the -newly-founded monasteries were usually imported from abroad; as the -rectories fell vacant, they would be filled with the sons of the new -Norman lords of manors, and there could be little sympathy between the -Norman rector and the Saxon flock. But things soon settled down upon a new -course. In a very few generations Normans and Saxons amalgamated. The old -monasteries, revived and reformed, and the new ones added to them, were -filled with zealous English communities; and in the parishes an English -lord of the manor and an English rector ruled an English people. With the -thirteenth century we begin a new period of parish history, continuing -down to the sixteenth century, and extending all over the country, of -which the general features are very uniform; so that it is only necessary -occasionally to point out new institutions and phases of character. - - * * * * * - -Perhaps the most striking social feature of these centuries is the way in -which the Church opened up a career to all ranks and classes of the -people. The great landed families still maintained friendly relations with -the monasteries which their forbears had founded, and sometimes -contributed one of their cadets to the cloister, and perhaps in time -secured his nomination to the abbacy; the lords of the manors continued to -present their younger sons to the rectories; so that there was always a -strong aristocratic element among the clergy. The vicars were for the most -part the nominees of the religious houses, and the conjecture that abbots -and priors, and abbesses, and prioresses, and dignitaries of the houses, -not infrequently presented their relatives, and sometimes clerks in the -service of the house, is supported by some actual examples. - -The middle classes supplied a great number of the clergy who filled the -offices of parish chaplain (= assistant-curates), chantry priest, guild -priest, and the like; and many of these, by force of learning, character, -and good service, rose to higher offices. Even young men of the servile -class were not excluded from the ranks of the clergy. The slaves whom -Gregory and Aidan, and others, redeemed and trained as priests, may have -been young men of good family taken captive in war; but in the thirteenth -and subsequent centuries young men born and bred serfs were not -infrequently educated and ordained, and given fair chance of promotion. It -is true they were under special legal disabilities. A serf could not be -himself ordained, or send his children to school without his lord's leave, -for they were _adscripti glaebe_, bound to the soil, and their labour and -their children's labour (or a portion of it, carefully defined by law and -custom) was an important part of the property of their lord; the canons of -the Church, moreover, from a very early period, had made servile birth a -disqualification for Holy Orders;[124] but in the thirteenth, and -especially in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, there are numerous -examples in which a serf gave a fine to his lord for leave to send his son -to school, and kindly lords not infrequently gave the right gratis to a -promising youth, and his ultimate freedom; and the Church frequently, -probably usually, as a matter of course, gave a dispensation _de defectu -natalium_. - -From the single manor of Woolrichston, in Warwickshire, we get these -illustrations of the text:--In 1361, Walter Martin paid 5_s._ for the -privilege of putting his son _ad scholas_. In 1371, William Potter fined -in 13_s._ 4_d._, that his eldest son may go _ad scholas_ and take Orders. -Stephen Sprot fined in 3_s._ 4_d._, that he might send his son Richard _ad -scholas_. William Henekyn fined in 5_s._, to marry his daughter Alice. In -1335, William at Water paid for licence for his younger son William _ad -sacrum ordinem promovendum_.[125] - -Here is another example. In 1312, the Bishop of Durham gave license to his -_nativus_, Walter de Hoghington, clerk, to receive all Divine orders, and -renounced his _jus domini_.[126] - -And this liberal sentiment was based upon the profoundest principle. When -the King's School at Canterbury was reorganized, at the time of the -Reformation, some of the commissioners to whom the work was committed -wished to limit the school to the children of gentlemen. It was for the -ploughman's son, they argued, to go to plough, and the artificer's son to -apply to the trade of his parents' vocation; and the gentleman's children -are used to have the knowledge of government and rule of the commonwealth. -"I grant," replied Archbishop Cranmer, who was one of the commissioners, -"much of your meaning herein as needful in a commonwealth; but yet utterly -to exclude the ploughman's son and the poor man's son from the benefit of -learning, as though they were unworthy to have the gifts of the Holy Ghost -bestowed upon them as well as upon others, was as much as to say that -Almighty God should not be at liberty to bestow His great gifts of grace -upon any person but as we and other men shall appoint them to be employed -according to our fancy, and not according to His most goodly will and -pleasure, who giveth His gifts of learning and other perfections in all -sciences unto all kinds and states of people indifferently."[127] - -There were always some who took the less liberal view which the archbishop -thus nobly rebuked. Even in the twelfth century, Walter Map (one of the -clerks in the civil service of Henry II., holding various ecclesiastical -preferments; he died in 1209) complains that villeins were attempting to -educate their "ignoble and degenerate offspring" in the liberal arts. - -The author of the "Vision of Piers Plowman" gives utterance to the same -illiberal prejudices as the noble colleagues of Cranmer. He thinks that -"Bondmen and beggars' children belong to labour, and should serve lords' -sons, and lords' sons should serve God, as belongeth to their degree;" and -complains that "bondmen's bairns should be made bishops, and that popes -and patrons should refuse gentle blood and take Symond's son to keep -sanctuary."[128] - -In another place the same writer says, in the same strain-- - - Now might each sowter[129] his son setten to schole - And each beggar's brat in the book learne, - And worth to a writer and with a lorde dwelle, - Or falsely to a frere the fiend for to serven. - So of that beggar's brat a Bishop that worthen, - Among the peers of the land prese to sytten; - And lorde's sons lowly to the lordes loute - Knyghtes crooketh hem to, and crowcheth ful lowe; - And his sire a sowter[129] y-soiled with grees, - His teeth with toyling of leather battered as a saw. - -The writer of "Symon's Lesson of Wisdom for Children," in a much more -genial spirit, jestingly encourages the children to be diligent in their -lessons by holding out the prize of succession to the see: - - And lerne as faste as thou can, - For our byshop is an old man, - And therfor thou must lerne faste - If thou wilt be byshop when he is past.[130] - -The better spirit prevailed. The lower classes had the inevitable -disadvantages of their origin to contend with, but every cathedral and -religious house had its schools, which were ready enough to admit boys who -were seen to possess those "gifts of the Holy Ghost" which might, if duly -cultivated, make them useful in Church and State; and it was regarded as -the duty of ecclesiastical persons to look out for such boys, and support -them in their career. Richard II. rejected a proposal to forbid villeins -to send their children to school "to learn clergee;" and the triumph of -the more liberal sentiment was legally secured by the Statute of -Artificers passed by Parliament in 1406, which enacted that "every man or -woman, of what state or condition he be, shall be free to set their son or -daughter to take learning at any school that pleaseth them within the -realm." - - * * * * * - -The career which was thus thrown open to all classes of the people was a -much larger one than appears at first sight. Not only all the offices and -dignities of the Church, from that of stipendiary chaplain to that of -bishop or even of Pope, were open to all comers, but also all the offices -of the State which required learning as a qualification were open to every -clerk. For the kings took the officials of the civil departments of the -Government very largely from the ranks of the clergy; and, by a great -abuse of their patronage, paid them for their services to the State by -promotion to the emoluments and dignities of the Church.[131] - -Some of the satirists found fault with this state of things, but, in fact, -the man of humble birth, who had risen to high rank in the Church by force -of his own learning and character, had little to fear from illiberal -reflections upon the lowliness of his origin. The men who had risen from -the grammar school of some village or obscure town to rank and wealth were -so far from trying to hide the obscurity of their origin, that it was the -general custom of dignified ecclesiastics to drop their patronymic and -take the name of their birthplace instead. Thus, he whom we familiarly -call Thomas-a-Becket was known to his contemporaries as Thomas of London; -the family name of Thomas of Rotherham, Archbishop of York, was Scot; the -family name of the illustrious bishop and statesman, William of Wyckham, -was Longe; and that of William of Wayneflete was Barlow.[132] Another good -custom was that such men frequently raised for themselves a lasting -monument in their native place by founding a free school in the village, -or a college or hospital in the town.[133] - -From the school of the cathedral or monastery, or of the parish priest, -the ambitious student whose means permitted it went to some more famous -centre of learning: in Saxon times, to the schools of Canterbury or York -or Winchester; in later times, to the universities which were organized -under the auspices of the Church in the various countries of Europe in the -twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Bologna was famous as a School of Law; -Paris took the lead in Theology; Salerno in Medicine. Here, in England, -Oxford and Cambridge were centres of learning at the close of the twelfth -century, and organized universities early in the thirteenth. Oxford in the -thirteenth century had a European reputation second only to that of Paris. - -The period from the awakening of new religious and scientific thought in -the eleventh century through the two following centuries, was one of great -intellectual activity throughout Europe. The isolated Saxon Church had -been little affected by the new learning; but the first Norman archbishop, -Lanfranc, was one of the foremost scholars of the time, and Anselm, his -successor, was more than that, being one of the greatest thinkers of -Christian Europe; and from their time onward Englishmen held a place among -the most learned men of Europe. - -In those days, as in these--and indeed in all days--men had different -natural temperaments--some a contemplative and spiritual disposition, some -an inquiring scientific turn of mind, others a rationalizing and practical -bias; some leaned upon authority, others were speculative and -self-confident. Great freedom of thought was permitted, and of the -expression of thought, and yet England was very little troubled by -heresies. From the beginning of the English Church to the beginning of the -Reformation of the sixteenth century, the excessive doctrines of -Lollardism in the fourteenth century--when they seemed to threaten the -very bases of social order both in Church and State--alone called forth -any serious action on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities against -the open expression of religious opinion. These ages, therefore, had their -various "schools of thought." - -The most prominent feature of this awakened, religious, and scientific -thought throughout Europe was the endeavour to give a rational exposition -of the doctrines of the Faith, and to organize them into a scientific -system; it pervaded more or less all the other schools of thought of these -ages. It will be enough to mention here the two great representatives of -the school. Peter Lombard, in the latter part of the twelfth century, -wrote "Quatuor Libri Sententiarum" (Four Books of Sentences), in which he -arranged under their various heads the opinions of some of the older -teachers, especially Augustine and Gregory the Great,[134] and of the -newer teachers, and sought to reconcile them by accurate distinctions into -a body of doctrine; he gathered together in compact brevity so rich a -store of matter, and treated it with so much sobriety and moderation, that -his work became a standard manual, adopted by the most distinguished -teachers, who were content to teach and write commentaries on the -"Sentences." "England alone is said to have produced no less than one -hundred and sixty-four writers, who illustrated this famous text-book." -The English Franciscan friar, Alexander of Hales (died 1245), was among -the most important representatives of the scholastic theology. The -greatest master of the school, however, was Thomas Aquinas, an Italian -Dominican friar, who wrote in the third quarter of the thirteenth century. -His "Summa Theologica" is the greatest work of its class, and served as a -text-book to the students of Europe throughout the subsequent ages.[135] - -Another school--of which Hugh, Canon of St. Victor in Paris (died 1141), -was an eminent leader--included frequently men of great intellectual -power, and skilled in the scholastic theology of their time; but the bent -of the school was towards spiritual contemplation and practical piety. -They drew their doctrines rather from the Bible itself and the older -Church teachers; they dwelt on the Divine perfections and on the relations -of the soul to God; their religion was of the affections rather than the -intellect. The college of St. Victor was for a long period a centre of -this school. Robert Pullein was an eminent representative of its teaching -at Oxford. Richard the Hermit, of Hampole, popularized its teachings in -the fourteenth century in numerous tractates written in English; and its -influence is easily recognized in many of the religious works of that and -the subsequent century. "The Imitation of Christ," by Thomas a Kempis, a -good example of the school, is at this day the favourite devotional book -of tens of thousands of our devout people.[136] - -Other Englishmen, who were among the most famous of the learned men of -Europe, were John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan friar, who, at the end of the -thirteenth century, displayed a great genius for mathematical science; and -Roger Bacon (died 1292), another Franciscan, who possessed an -extraordinary genius for physical science, and Occham. These, and -such-like, were the men who ruled the thought of the time, and their -teachings were eagerly studied and reproduced in the cathedral and -monastic schools, and imbibed and assimilated by the scholars; and their -general principles at least tinctured the teaching of the parish priests -in their town parishes and country villages. - -The course of reading in the Schools was four years in grammar (_i.e._ -Latin language and literature), rhetoric, and logic, before the student -could be admitted a Bachelor; three years in science, viz. arithmetic, -music, geometry, and astronomy, before inception as a Master; seven years' -study before, as a Bachelor of Theology, he could lecture on the -"Sentences;"[137] and, lastly, he must study the Bible for three years, -and lecture on one of the Canonical Books, before he could take his degree -as a Doctor of Theology. - - * * * * * - -Students went up to the universities at an early age (fourteen or -fifteen), and they went in great numbers. In the thirteenth century there -were three thousand of them at Oxford. At first they lodged where they -pleased, and were under no special oversight and discipline; but soon the -university required that every student should be under the care of a -recognized tutor; and before long bishops and lay benefactors began to -build hostelries or halls, and to provide stipends for students; and out -of these arose the mediaeval colleges, which provided a home and discipline -and tutors, and pecuniary help to poor students; Merton College, at -Oxford, was the earliest, founded by Walter of Merton, Bishop of Rochester -(1264). The friars, at an early date after their institution, sent their -more promising members to the universities; and they cultivated the study -of theology, philosophy, and natural science with so much success that -within a short time their teachers were famous in all the universities of -Europe, and members of their orders were promoted to the highest offices -in the Church. Among Archbishops of Canterbury, Richard of Kilwardby, a -Dominican, was succeeded by John of Peckham, a Franciscan. - - * * * * * - -Students of all nations flocked to the most famous seats of learning. -Latin was the language in which all instruction was given, and was the -_lingua franca_ of all who pretended to learning; the students from the -same country formed themselves into national clubs for mutual society and -protection. The phrase, "The Republic of Letters," in those days signified -a more real cosmopolitanism than in our days, when men go to their -national universities, and meet only their own countrymen there, and when -even learned men have not the habit of colloquial Latin. - -Our readers may remember Bishop Latimer's naive piece of autobiography in -a sermon before the king, which affords us an example of the farmer who -sent his clever son to the schools. "My father," he says, "was a yeoman, -and had no lands of his own; only he had a farm of three or four pounds by -the year at the uttermost, and hereupon he tilled so much as kept half a -dozen men. He had walk for a hundred sheep, and my mother milked thirty -kine. He was able, and did find the king a harness and his horse. I -remember that I buckled on his harness when he went to Blackheath field. -He kept me to school, or else I had not been able to have preached before -the king's majesty now. He married my sisters with five pounds, or twenty -nobles, each, having brought them up in godliness and fear of God. He kept -hospitality for his poor neighbours, and some alms he gave to the poor; -and all this he did of the said farm" ("Sermons," p. 101). - -Besides the youths whose fathers could afford to "keep them to school" out -of their own means, the system produced a great host of poor scholars, -many of whom out of term-time returned to their homes and supported -themselves by their labour; others, with or without a special licence -permitting them, travelled round the country, alone or in groups, asking -for contributions to help them to maintain themselves and complete their -education. Longfellow's "Spanish Student" and "Hyperion" help their -readers to realize the groups of students, some thoughtful and ambitious, -some full of the gaiety of youth, wandering from town to castle, from -monastery to manor house, asking alms with a laugh and jest; and the -knight and his lady gladly gave them supper and a shakedown in the hall, -for the sake of their hopeful youth; and the prior or rector gave them a -donation and a kind wish, with a wistful recollection of his own bygone -student days; and people of all classes gave a trifle, for it was a -recognized act of piety to help poor scholars. - -There are survivals to our own day. The clever Irish boys who used to be -picked out by their priests and sent to St. Omer's, where they were made -into scholars and Irish-French gentlemen--a charming type--some of whom -rose to high station in their church, is a thing of the recent past. In -Scotland, the schoolmaster is still on the outlook for those among his -peasant laddies who possess the natural qualities of a scholar; and the -minister is ready to give them the higher teaching where the dominie -halts; and not only the parents are filled with ambition that the boy -should succeed, but the whole village is proud of the honour reflected -upon his birthplace. - -Among this crowd of ambitious youths of all classes there were sure to be -some whose career would be wrecked, by failure in intelligence, industry, -and character, and these formed a rather numerous class of sham scholars -and worthless clerics of whom we get glimpses from time to time. - - In the Norwich Corporation records of 1521, is a copy of the - examination of Sir William Green, in whose sketch of his own life we - have a curiously detailed relation of the way in which many a poor - man's son became a scholar and a priest. He was the son of a labouring - man, Stephen-at-Grene, at Wantlet, in Lincolnshire, and learned - grammar for two years at the village school, and then went to day - labour with his father. Afterwards he removed to Boston, where he - lived with his aunt, labouring for his living and going to school as - he had opportunity. Being evidently a clerkly lad, he was admitted to - minor orders, up to that of acolyte, by "Friar Graunt," who was a - suffragan bishop in the diocese of Lincoln. After that, he went to - Cambridge, where he maintained himself partly by his labour, partly on - alms, and availed himself of the opportunities of learning which the - university afforded. At length he found an opportunity of going to - Rome with two monks of Whalley Abbey, probably as one of their - attendants; and there he endeavoured to obtain the order of - priesthood, which seems to have been bestowed rather indiscriminately - at Rome, and without a title; but in this he was unsuccessful. On his - return to England, he was for a short time thrown again on his labour - for his living; but, going to Cambridge, he obtained from the - vice-chancellor, Mr. Coney, a licence under seal to collect - subscriptions for one year towards an exhibition, to enable him to - complete his education and take his degree. Had he obtained money - enough, completed his education, and obtained ordination in due - course, it would have finished the story of a poor scholar in the - regular way; but he fell into bad hands, forged a new poor scholar's - letter, using the seal of the old letter, then letters of orders with - a forged seal, and then went about begging alms as a destitute - priest;[138] and we find him in the hands of the magistrates of - Norwich under the charge of being a spy. - -In the register of Lincoln diocese, in 1457, we find a record of one Hugh -Bernewell, an Irishman, who went about pretending to be a priest, and -undertaking to make a pilgrimage to Rome, and say prayers at the _Scala -Coeli_, for any who would pay him. He was found to be an impostor, and was -put in the pillory.[139] - - * * * * * - -The next step in the career of the parish priest was his ordination. We -have seen that he might receive the minor orders with little difficulty -while still a youth pursuing his studies; but when it came to the sacred -orders, he had to obtain a "title," _i.e._ a definite place in which to -exercise his ministry, and a competent maintenance to prevent the disgrace -which pauper clergymen would bring upon the Church. The bishop who -ordained a man without a title was liable to maintain him out of his own -purse, and there are instances of the enforcement of the liability. A -curious instance of it is recorded in the Register of Archbishop -Winchelsea of Canterbury, 1297, in a decree that the executors of a -bishop, who had ordained a priest without title, should provide for his -maintenance when afterwards he became, without his own fault, mutilated -so that he could no longer fulfil the office of priest. - -But a title was not always a cure of souls; any kind of ecclesiastical -benefice which afforded a prospect of maintenance was sufficient; for -example, membership of a convent or a hermitage. No doubt there were many -young men of good families who desired ordination, not with a view to cure -of souls, but with a view to being capable of holding ecclesiastical -benefices as the rewards of the career which they proposed to pursue in -the civil service of the Crown, or of great men. This partly accounts for -the ordinations _ad titulum patrimonii sui quo respondet se esse -contentum_ which are not uncommonly found in the Episcopal Registers, and -the similar ones _ad titulum_, of lands and of a ville of five marks of -annual rent, and of sixty shillings of annual pension, and the like.[140] -A great many poor men's sons also got little pensions as titles, and then -took chantry priest's places. - -The Rules of Examination for Orders were precise and the same in all -dioceses. The number of men ordained was very large, and went on rapidly -increasing through the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; for there were -four Orders to be ordained, Acolytes, Sub-deacons, Deacons, and Priests; -not only the parishes had to be supplied, but a proportion of the -inhabitants of religious houses were also ordained by the bishop on the -presentation of the abbot, the candidate's position in the house being a -sufficient title.[141] In these ordinations there were frequent -dispensations from canonical obstacles; servile condition, illegitimate -birth, personal blemish,[142] and insufficient learning. - -Some of the newly-ordained were at once instituted to benefices, and -licence of non-residence was given to a large proportion of the new -rectors, that they might go to school or university to acquire the -learning which they did not yet possess. - -[Illustration: ORDINATION OF A DEACON. FROM A PRINTED PONTIFICAL (471 f. -2), A.D. 1520.] - -In Bishop Langton's "Lichfield Registers" we find, in the single month of -February, 1300, licences were given on institution for one year's -study, to Alexander de Verdon, Rector of Biddulph, Roger Bagod, Rector of -Alvechurch, Nicholas de Aylesbury, Rector of Pattingham, Roger -Fitzherbert, Rector of Norbury, and Richard Birchal, Vicar of Tattenhill. -In the same month Richard Touchet, Rector of Middlewick, and Simon -Touchet, of Mackworth, were sent to college for two years, and Walter de -Fordinghay, Rector of Mackworth, for three years. In 1309, William de -Draco, a youth of fifteen, was, at the Pope's instance, licensed to hold a -benefice, and Conrad Homerschilt, a German, Rector of Filingley, got five -years' leave of studious absence.[143] - - * * * * * - -We will assume that the typical parish priest--whose parentage and -education at school and university we have seen, and whose fortunes we are -following--passed with credit the bishop's examination, was ordained -without having need to put in a dispensation for canonical impediments, -was instituted by the bishop without any wish for licence of -non-residence, then went off to his living, and was inducted into -possession of his church by the archdeacon, with a solemn sense of the -responsibilities he undertook, and an earnest desire to fulfil his duty. -It will be convenient to us here to divide our study of his life in the -parish under several headings: his house and furniture; dress and daily -life; and his duties as a parish priest. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -PARSONAGE HOUSES. - - -There is no reason to suppose that the houses of the parochial clergy -differed from those of lay people of corresponding income and social -position, except in the one circumstance that they sometimes had to -provide for the hospitality to travellers to which we will give special -consideration hereafter. - -The house of a rector, from Saxon times downwards, would be very like that -of a lay lord of a small estate, but it is very difficult for us, with our -ideas of absolutely necessary domestic accommodation, to realize how rude -and simple were then the houses of people of comparative wealth and social -position. The house consisted mainly of one room. This room, the hall, was -oblong in plan, constructed, except in districts where timber was scarce -and stone easily obtained, of timber framework, filled in with wattle and -clay, with a lofty unceiled roof. The windows were few and high up in the -side walls, not glazed until comparatively modern times, but closed on -occasion with shutters; a stone hearth stood in the middle of the hall, -with iron fire-dogs on which the burning logs rested. In the better class -of houses there was a raised dais at the end furthest from the door, with -a long rude oak table on it, and a single chair for the master of the -house behind it; there were other tables of boards and trestles put up -when needed, and taken away again when done with, and a couple of rude -benches and a few stools; there was a cupboard near the "dormant table," -as Chaucer calls it, on which were displayed the pewter dishes, and horn -drinking-vessels, and in better houses, perhaps, a silver salt-holder, and -a couple of silver drinking-cups. When there was some pretension to -refinement, the roof-timbers would be moulded, the lower part of the walls -hung with tapestry, and rushes strewn on the floor by way of carpet; a low -screen of wood across the lower end of the hall at the same time made a -passage ("the screens") through the house by which people might pass to -the back premises without disturbing the company in the hall, and warded -off the draught from the ever-open door. Any one of the hundreds of old -halls which remain in all parts of the country may serve as an -illustration of this general plan. - -A separate building attached at right angles to the lower end of the hall, -and opening into the screens just mentioned, contained the cellar, -buttery, and kitchen, and might be prolonged to contain other offices, as -a brew-house, etc. Another separate building was attached at right angles -to the upper end of the hall, usually of two stories, with its gable to -the front; the lower story was often a storehouse, sometimes a "parlour," -the upper story "the great chamber"--the special apartment of the lady of -the house, and the one retiring room from the promiscuous company in the -hall. This room had perhaps a bay window in its gable, and would be -furnished with tapestry, and a few stools, a spinning-wheel, a couple of -carved oak chests, and cushions in the window-seats. - -As time went on, at the end of the thirteenth century, and in the -succeeding centuries, a greater refinement of domestic customs was -introduced, and other apartments were added.[144] In the fifteenth and -sixteenth centuries, the walls of the hall were built a little higher, and -an upper floor put in so as to convert the roof into a sleeping loft, -lighted by a couple of dormer windows; and this plan of a central hall -with a loft over, its longer side to the front, flanked by a two-story -building at one end with its gable to the front flush with the hall, and -another building at the other end of the hall containing the offices, was -the general plan of the houses of the middle classes of the people. -Thousands of them, more or less disguised by later additions, still remain -all over the country. - -[Illustration: Plan of Rectory House, West Dean, Sussex.] - -[Illustration: Rectory House, West Dean.] - -Few of the old rectory houses are left in their original condition. There -is a good example of the hall at Weston Turville, Bucks.[145] The -parsonage house at West Dean, Sussex, of the thirteenth century, is -described and figured in Turner's "Domestic Architecture." It is built of -stone; in plan a hall with a story over it, and the soler at the upper -end, approached by a stone newel stair built in a projecting buttress on -the north side. The windows of the story over the hall are lancets, those -of the hall have a curious kind of tracery. The upper chamber or soler has -a good fireplace and chimney-piece of stone, with deeply splayed windows. - -[Illustration: Pre-reformation Clergy House, Alfriston. (By kind -permission of the publishers of the _Builder_.)] - -There is a parsonage house at Alfriston, within three miles of Dean, -Sussex, of the fourteenth century, so unchanged and well preserved that it -has been made over to the National Trust for Preserving Places of Historic -Interest. It has the usual hall, constructed of oak framing, the -interstices being filled with "wattle and dab," open to the roof with -large cambered tie-beams and moulded king-posts. At the upper end of the -hall is the soler, of two stories. - -[Illustration: Pre-reformation Clergy House, Alfriston. (By kind -permission of the publishers of the _Builder_.)] - -There are others of stone at Congresbury (Somerset), King's Stanley -(Gloucester), Wonstone (Hants.), Notgrove (Gloucester); of timber at -Helmsley (Yorkshire); and many others. And, just as many farmhouses which -were once small manor houses still retain their ancient mediaeval features -disguised by modern alterations, so there are many parsonage houses in -which the original house of the fourteenth or fifteenth century still -remains, and may be traced by a skilful eye amidst the subsequent -additions. - -We derive our fullest information about the old parsonage houses, however, -from literary sources, from the settlements of vicarages which describe -the old rectory house, or dictate how the new vicarage house shall be -built; from the old terriers which describe the then existing houses, and -from the inventories of wills which go from room to room, naming the -rooms, and detailing the furniture in them. - -Thus a deed of 1356 describes the rectory house of Kelvedon, in Essex, -existing at that date--and how long before that date we do not know--which -the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, in the settlement of a vicarage -there, assigned to the vicar as his residence. The deed describes it as-- - - One hall situate in the manor of the said abbot and convent near the - said church, with a soler and chamber at one end of the hall, and with - a buttery and cellar at the other. Also one other house[146] in three - parts, namely, a kitchen with a convenient chamber in the end of the - said house for guests, and a bakehouse. Also one other house in two - parts next the gate at the entrance of the manor for a stable and - cow-house. He (the vicar) shall also have a convenient grange, to be - built within a year at the expense of the prior and convent. He shall - also have the curtilage with the garden adjoining the hall on the - north side enclosed as it is with hedges and ditches.[147] - -The present vicarage house occupies the old site, and its offices, -gardens, and surroundings help to illustrate this description. - -In a deed of Richard of Thornely, Chaplain of Wasseford, it is stated that -when he was presented by the Prior and Convent of Hatfield to the vicarage -of Silverley, he bound himself by his own free will to build a house -there, with a hall, a chamber, and a kitchen.[148] - -In 1352, the Bishop of Winchester decreed that the Prior and Convent of -Merton, the impropriators of the benefice of Kingston-on-Thames, should -provide - - a competent manse for the vicar, viz. a hall with two rooms, one at - one end of the hall, and the other at the other end, with a drain to - each, and a suitable kitchen with fireplace and oven, and a stable for - six horses, all covered with tiles, and completed within one year, - such place to remain to the use of the said vicar and his - successors.[149] - -The deed of settlement of the vicarage of Bulmer, Essex, in 1425, -describes the vicarage house as consisting of-- - - one hall with two chambers annexed, bakehouse, kitchen, and - larder-house, one chamber for the vicar's servant, and a hay-soller - (soler = loft), with a competent garden.[150] - -Ingrave Rectory house is described in the terrier of 1610 as-- - - a house containing a hall, a parlour, a buttery, two lofts, and a - study, also a kitchen, a milk-house, and a house for poultry, a barn, - a stable, and a hay-house.[151] - -Ingatestone Rectory house, in the terrier of 1610, is described as-- - - a dwelling house with a hall, a parlour, and a chamber within it; a - study newly built by the then parson; a chamber over the parlour, and - another within that with a closet; without the dwelling-house a - kitchen, and two little rooms adjoining it, and a chamber over them; - two little butteries over against the hall, and next them a chamber, - and one other chamber over the same; without the kitchen there is a - dove-house, and another house built by the then parson; a barn and a - stable very ruinous.[152] - -Here we have an old house with hall in the middle, parlour and chamber at -one end, and butteries and kitchen at the other, in the middle of later -additions. - -Mr. Froude gives an inventory, dated 1534, of the goods of the Rector of -Allington, Kent, from which we take only the incidental description of the -house which contained them.[153] - - It consisted of hall, parlour, and chamber over the parlour, - stairs-head beside the parson's bed-chamber, parson's lodging-chamber, - study, chamber behind the chimney, chamber next adjoining westward, - buttery, priest's chamber [perhaps for the rector's chaplain[154]], - servants' chamber, kitchen, mill-house, boulting house, larder, - entries, women's chamber; gate-house, still beside the gate; barn next - the gate; cartlage, barn next the church, garden-house, court. - -Here, again, we recognize the hall in the middle, the parlour and chamber -over it at one end, with an adjoining study on the ground floor, and a -chamber over it, as at Ingatestone, and at the other end the buttery, -kitchen, larder, mill, boulting houses, with a priest's chamber, and a -servants' chamber over it, women's chamber over the kitchen, etc.; and we -observe that the additional chambers for the master of the house and his -family are grouped about the parlour and great chamber, while the chambers -for guests and servants are added to the kitchen and offices at the lower -end of the hall. These two projections backward would partially enclose a -courtyard at the back of the hall. - -The rectory at Little Bromley, Essex, is described (1610) as-- - - a large parsonage house compass'd with a mote, a gate-house, with a - large chamber, and a substantial bridge of timber adjoining it; a - little yard, an orchard and a little garden all within the mote, - which, together with the circuit of the house, contains about half an - acre of ground; and without the mote there is a yard in which there is - another gate-house, and a stable, and a hay-house adjoining, also a - barn of twenty-five yards long, and nine yards wide, and about - seventy-nine and a half acres of glebe land.[155] - -North Benfleet Rectory is described as consisting of-- - - a hall with a loft over it, two cross ends, with lofts and chambers, a - kitchen with a hen-house, a barn and a little stable at the end of it, - built in ancient time, a garden made, an orchard planned, a milk-house - and a dove-house.[156] - -West Hanningfield is described as-- - - one dwelling-house tiled, having in it a hall with a loft over it for - corn, a closet in the hall, two butteries, with a loft over them for - servants' lodging, an entry, a large parlour, with two lodging - chambers over it for servants, a study new built, also a kitchen - tiled, with a corn-loft over it, a boulting-house with a cheese-loft - over it, a brew-house newly set up, with a fair corn-lift over it, and - a garret over that, and a hen-house tiled at the end of it, a barn - newly built, and a porch thatched, a hay-house at the end of it, a - hogs'-coat boarded, a stable, a quern-house, two small cotes to fat - fowl in, a cow-house newly built, with a cart-house at the end of it; - another cart-house newly built with a room over it to hold hay; one - large hay-house with a cart-house at the end of it; another cart-house - newly built; a gate-house, wherein is a milk-house, with a loft over - it for cheese and fish; the site of the house and yards with two - gardens contains two roods.[157] - -We easily recognize the normal plan of the house; the large accommodation -outside--some of it new--for carts and hay, and for the storing of corn -inside the house, indicates that the rector was farming on rather a large -scale. - - * * * * * - -We have seen in the foregoing description of the vicarage house at -Kelvedon, Essex, that a special chamber was provided for the -entertainment of guests, and at Kingston-on-Thames a stable for six horses -was attached to the vicarage house. This was no doubt needed because the -one was on the high-road from London into Essex, and the other on the -high-road from London into Surrey, and so westward, and the accommodation -was needed for travellers. In those times there were no inns at convenient -distances along the main roads of the country, nor even in the towns, -except in some of the largest. Few people travelled except on business, so -that hospitality was little liable to abuse; and travellers sought -entertainment for man and horse at the monasteries and the parsonage -houses. - -It was regarded as a duty of the clergy to "entertain strangers," and to -be "given to hospitality;" and the duty was fulfilled ungrudgingly, -without fee or reward, and entailed a heavy charge upon the income of the -clergy. One of the common reasons which a monastery[158] alleges for -asking the bishop to allow them to impropriate an additional benefice is -that their expenditure on the entertainment of travellers is beyond their -means; the country rectors, also, in their remonstrance against the -exactions of the popes, complain that they will be left without means to -fulfil their duty of hospitality;[159] and the matter is very frequently -alluded to and illustrated by examples in mediaeval history. Off the great -roads, the rector would put an extra pewter platter and horn drinking-cup -on the board for an accidental passenger who claimed hospitality--he -brought his own knife, and there were no forks--and gave him a liberal -"shakedown" of clean straw, or at best a flock mattress, in a corner of -the hall. But, just as in the monasteries it was necessary to have a -special guest-house for travellers, so that they should not interfere with -the seclusion of the religious, so it would seem at the rectories along -the great roads it was necessary that there should be special provision -made for the frequent influx of guests. This is the explanation of the -chamber for guests at Kelvedon, and for the vicar's six-stall stable at -Kingston. - - * * * * * - -It is clear that some of the rectory houses thus described were like some -of the smaller manor houses, enclosed by moat or wall, and the entrance -protected by a gate-house, and that the house contained all the -accommodation needed by a small squire.[160] But there were smaller -houses more suited to the means of a poor vicar or a parish chaplain.[161] -Thus, on the settlement of the Vicarage of Great Bentley, Essex, in 1323, -it was required that a competent house should be built for the vicar, with -a sufficient curtilage, where the parish chaplain has been used to abide. -At the settlement of the Vicarage of St. Peter's, Colchester, the -impropriators, the Convent of St. Botolph, were required to prepare a -competent house for the vicar in the ground of the churchyard, where a -house was built for the parish chaplain. At Radwinter, Essex, in 1610, -there were two houses attached to the benefice, on the south side of the -church towards the west end, one called "the Great Vicarage, and in -ancient time the _Domus Capellanorum_, and the other the Less Vicarage," -which latter "formerly served for the ease of the parson; and, as appears -by evidence, first given to the end that if any of the parish were sick, -the party might be sure to find the parson or his curate near the church, -ready to go and visit him." There are little houses in some churchyards -which may have been houses for the parish chaplain. At Laindon, Essex, a -small timber-house is built on to the west end of the church.[162] The -Chapel of our Lady at Great Horkesley, Essex, has the west end walled off -and divided into two stories for a priest's residence.[163] - -[Illustration: Laindon Church, Essex.] - - * * * * * - -The question of dilapidations of the parsonage house and its dependent -buildings is not a matter of much general interest, but it was then, as it -is now, of much practical importance to the beneficed clergy, and it is -worth while to say a few words about it. We find examples in the episcopal -registers which we assume represent the universal practice. - -In the register of John de Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter, June 21, 1328, a -commission was issued to inquire into the defects in the church and its -furniture and the manse of the Rectory of Lydeford, by the carelessness -and neglect of Stephen Waleys, late deceased. The commissioners were -laudably prompt in action, for, on the 4th July, they made their return of -defects, etc., to the amount of 42_s._; and the bishop at once issued his -mandate that the amount should be paid out of the goods of the defunct -rector.[164] There was a similar process in the same year at Didesham. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -FURNITURE AND DRESS. - - -There was a continual fight going on all through the Middle Ages between -the rulers of the Church and the rest of their brethren on the subject of -the ordinary costume of the clergy. It seems to have been a part of the -Hildebrandine plan of making the secular clergy a kind of semi-monastic -order. Wherever there is a strong canon on enforcing celibacy, there we -are sure to find another canon enjoining a well-marked tonsure, and -forbidding long hair, and worldly fashions of dress and ornaments. - -[Illustration: Consecration of Archbishop Thomas Becket. (MS., Royal 2 B., -vii.)] - -It is not worth while to trouble the reader with a long series of laws and -canons; it will be enough to quote one which condescends to be -argumentative and persuasive as well as minatory. It is from the -"Injunctions of John Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury," made at St. -Paul's Cathedral, in A.D. 1342. - - The external costume often shows the internal character and condition - of persons; and although the behaviour of clerks ought to be an - example and pattern of lay people, yet the abuses of clerks, which - have prevailed more than usual in these days, in tonsure, clothing, - horse trappings, and other things, have created an abominable scandal - among the people; because persons holding ecclesiastical dignities, - rectories, honourable prebends, and benefices with cure of souls, even - men in Holy Orders, scorn to wear the tonsure, which is the crown of - the kingdom of heaven and of perfection, and distinguish themselves by - hair spreading to the shoulders in an effeminate manner, and walk - about clad in a military rather than a clerical dress, with an outer - habit very short and tight-fitting, but excessively wide, with long - sleeves which do not touch the elbow; their hair curled and perfumed - (?), their hoods with lappets of wonderful length; with long beards, - rings on their fingers, and girded belts studded with precious stones - of wonderful size, their purses enamelled and gilt with various - devices, and knives openly hanging at them like swords, their boots of - red and green peaked and cut in many ways; with housings to their - saddles, and horns hanging from their necks; their capes and cloaks so - furred, in rash disregard of the canons, that there appears little or - no distinction between clergymen and laymen; whereby they render - themselves unworthy through their demerits of the privilege of their - order and profession. Wherefore we decree that they who hold - ecclesiastical benefices in our province, especially if ordained to - Holy Orders, do wear the garments and tonsure proper to their - condition, but if they offend by using any of the foresaid abuses, too - wide sleeves or too short outer coats, or long hair, or untonsured - head, or long beard, and do not when admonished desist within six - months, they shall incur suspension from their office until absolved - by the bishop--to whom their absolution is reserved--when they shall - forfeit a sixth of one year's income from their ecclesiastical - benefices to the poor of their benefices; and if while the suspension - lasts, they perform any act of their office they shall be deprived. - [On the other hand] unbeneficed clerks publicly and habitually - carrying themselves like clerks, if they exceed in these things, and - do not, when admonished, correct themselves within four months, shall - not be capable of holding a benefice. If living in universities, and - bearing themselves as clerks, they offend in these respects, they - shall be incapable of ecclesiastical degrees or honours. Yet we intend - not to abridge clerks of open wide surcoats called table-coats with - fitting sleeves to be worn at seasonable times and places, nor of - short and close garments while travelling in the country at their own - discretion. Ordinaries are commanded to make inquiry by themselves or - by others every year, and to see that this canon is observed.[165] - -[Illustration: ARCHDEACON, CLERGY IN SECULAR COSTUME. XIV. CENT. MS., 6 E -VII., f. 197.] - -[Illustration: ARCHDEACON AND CLERGY. XIV. CENT. MS., 6 E VI., f. 132.] - -We shall see hereinafter that by ages of worrying legislation the canons -succeeded in compelling the clergy to keep their wives _in petto_; but the -sumptuary canons were a dead failure. - -The authorities made attempts to get them observed. It is related that at -a certain Visitation, the bishop ordered the canon to be read and then had -the hair of the clergy cut short on the spot. Grostete of Lincoln refused -to institute to a cure of souls a deacon who came to him untonsured, -dressed in scarlet, and wearing rings, in the habit and carriage of a -layman, or rather of a knight, and almost illiterate.[166] Some of the -vicars of York Cathedral[167] were presented to the bishop in 1362 "for -being in the habit of going through the city in short tunics ornamentally -trimmed, with knives and basilards hanging at their girdles." Similarly, -in the diocese of Bath and Wells, from an inquiry made by Bishop -Beckington (1443-1465), we learn that the vicars of the cathedral affected -the dress of the laity: they had the collars of their doublets high and -standing up like lawyers, and the collars of their gowns and cloaks very -short and low; against which practices the bishop made ordinances. - -Many of the clergy, however, persisted in wearing the same sort of clothes -as their neighbours of similar position in society, very much as they do -now, with little differences which were enough to mark their clerical -character. They wore the tonsure--the complaint was they would not make -it larger, like the monks; they wore a special head-covering--or some of -them did--which is mentioned in their Wills as a "priest's bonnet;"[168] -but they persisted in wearing their hair cut like other people's, and -short-skirted coats when it was convenient; their ordinary dress was of -red or blue, or half a dozen other colours, instead of grey or black; and -nothing could prevent them from wearing "zones" ornamented with silver, -and a basilard--a hanger, or short sword--hanging at their silver zone, -instead of a girdle of leather and a pair of beads. The mention of -coloured gowns (togas) and of silver zones and basilards[168] in the wills -of the clergy is so general as to produce the conviction that the wearing -of them by the more well-to-do of the secular clergy was almost universal. - - * * * * * - -In the illuminated MSS. of all ages there are to be found representations -of the secular clergy not only in their official robes, but also in their -ordinary dress. The best and clearest examples of these which we have met -with are in the Catalogue[169] of Benefactors of the Abbey of St. Albans, -already quoted, and we are able to give engravings[170] of some of them. - -[Illustration: Sir Richard de Threton.] - -[Illustration: Sir Bartholomew de Wendon.] - -On fol. 100 v. is a portrait of one Lawrence, a clerk, who is dressed in a -brown gown (toga); another clerk, William by name, is in a scarlet gown -and hood. On fol. 93 v. Leofric, a deacon, is in a blue gown and hood. The -first of the accompanying engravings from fol. 105 represents Dom. -Ricardus de Threton, sacerdos--Sir Richard Threton, priest--who was -executor of Sir Robert de Thorp, knight, formerly chancellor of the king, -who gave twenty marks to the convent. In the illumination, the gown and -hood are of full bright blue, lined with white; the under sleeves which -appear at the wrists are of the same colour; and the shoes are red. The -next illustration from fol. 106 v. represents Dom. Bartholomeus de -Wendone, rector of the church of Thakreston, and the character of the face -leads to the conclusion that it is a portrait, and to the conjecture that -all the others were intended to be so. His gown, hood, and sleeves are -scarlet, with black shoes. Another rector, on fol. 105, Dom. Johannes -Rodland, rector of the church of Todyngton, has a green gown and scarlet -hood. Still another rector of the church of Little Waltham is represented -at half length in pink gown and purple hood. On fol. 108 v. is the -full-length portrait of Dom. Rogerus, chaplain of the chapel of the Earl -of Warwick at Flamsted; over a scarlet gown, of the same fashion as those -in the preceding pictures, he wears a pink cloak lined with blue; the hood -is scarlet of the same suit as the gown; the buttons at the shoulder of -the cloak are white (perhaps silver), the shoes red. It will be observed -that they all wear the moustache and beard. - -[Illustration: Sir Roger, Chaplain.] - -The priest on horseback represents John Ball, who was concerned in Wat -Tyler's rebellion. He is in a churchyard, preaching from the pulpit of his -saddle to a crowd of people on the left side of the picture. - - * * * * * - -The subject receives some illustration from literary sources; the -"Instructions to Parish Priests" enjoins-- - - In honeste clothes thow muste gon - Basdard ne bawdryke were thou non. - -But "Piers Plowman" notes their contrary practice. It would be better, he -says-- - - If many a priest bare for their baselards and their brooches - A pair of beads in their hand and a book under their arm. - Sire John and Sire Geffrey hath a girdle of silver, - A baselard and a knife, with botons over gilt. - -[Illustration: John Ball, priest. (From MS. of Froissart's "Chronicle.")] - -A little later he speaks of proud priests habited in patlocks (a short -jacket worn by laymen), with peaked shoes and large knives or daggers. - -In the poems of John Audelay, in the fifteenth century, a parish priest is -described in-- - - His girdle harneshed with silver, his baselard hangs by. - -Examples will be found in the Wills and Inventories, which we have placed -at the end of this chapter (p. 173, etc.). We may add here that the silver -ornaments of these zones were probably plates more or less ornamented with -repousse work and sometimes with enamel and precious stones; that the -plates must have been of considerable substance is indicated by the -following-- - - Thomas Sufwyk, Rector of Burton Noveray (not dated--c. 1390), leaves - to his parish church his great missal and best vestment, and also his - best silver zone to make a chalice.[171] - -Sometimes a clergyman had not only a basilard habitually hanging at his -girdle, but also a sword for use on occasion. Chaucer says-- - - Bucklers brode and swerdes long - Baudrike with baselardes kene - Sech toles about her necke they hong: - With Antichrist seche prestes been. - -Robert Newby, Rector of Whyttchurche, and official of the Archdeacon of -Oxford, in his will made in 1412, leaves to his brother his best sword, -and to his niece his scarlet gown;[172] and in the wills subsequently -given it will be seen that the Vicar of Gaynford, in 1412, leaves his best -suit of armour and all his arrows; the Rector of Scrayningham, in 1414, -leaves a suit of armour; and the dean of the collegiate church at Auckland -leaves his best sword and a complete suit of armour.[173] - -There are some quaint illustrations of these offending clergymen in the -MSS. so often quoted here, Royal 6 E. VI., and 6 E. VII. _Clerici -pugnantes in duello_ at 6 E. VI., f. 302 _verso_; _Clericus venator_ at f. -303 _verso_. Under the title _De habitu Clericorum_, in 6 E. VII. f. 197, -there are three clerics on the left properly habited in red tunic and blue -cloak and blue tunic and red cloak, and on the right three startling -examples of the costume against which the Canons wage war, of short tunics -and belted swords. See Plate. - - * * * * * - -Here are some brief extracts from various wills[174] which bear upon the -subject. - - In the Bury St. Edmunds Wills, Adam de Stanton, a chaplain, A.D. 1370, - bequeaths one girdle with purse and knife valued at 5_s._, a - considerable sum in those days. In the York wills, John Wyndhill, - Rector of Arnecliffe, A.D. 1431, leaves an amber pair of beads, such - as Piers Plowman says a priest ought "to bear in his hand, and a book - under his arm;" and, curiously enough, in the next sentence, he leaves - an English book of "Piers Plowman;" but he does not seem to have been - much influenced by the popular poet's invectives, for he goes on to - bequeath two green gowns, and one of murrey, and one of sanguine - colour, besides two of black, all trimmed with various furs; also one - girdle of sanguine silk ornamented with silver gilded; and another - zone of green and white, ornamented with silver gilded; and he also - leaves his best silver girdle and a baselard with ivory and silver - handle. John Gilby, Rector of Knesale, A.D. 1434-35, leaves a red toga - furred with bryce, a black zone of silk with gilt bars, and a zone - ornamented with silver. J. Bagale, Rector of All Saints, York, A.D. - 1438, leaves a little basilard with a zone harnessed with silver to - Sir T. Astell, a chaplain. W. Duffield, a chantry priest at York, A.D. - 1443, leaves a black zone silvered, a purse called a "gypsire," and a - white purse of "burdeux." W. Swerd, chaplain, leaves to H. Hobshot a - hawk-bag, and to W. Day, parochial chaplain of Calton, a pair of - hawk-bag rings, and to J. Sarle, chaplain, "my ruby zone silvered, and - my toga furred with bevers;" and to the wife of J. Bridlington a ruby - purse of satin. R. Rollerton, provost of the church of Beverley, A.D. - 1450, leaves a "toga lunata" with a red hood, a toga and hood of - violet, a long toga and hood of black trimmed with martrons, and a - toga and hood of violet. J. Clyft, chaplain, A.D. 1455, leaves a zone - of silk ornamented with silver. - -The following extracts from wills of clergymen are full of points of -interest, which want of space compels us to leave, without note or -comment, to the reader's discrimination:-- - - Roger de Kyrby, Perpetual Vicar of Gaynford, 1412, leaves his body to - be buried in the choir of his parish church, near the altar, on the - south side [where it still lies, with an inscription on a brass plate - on the stone which covers his grave]. To a priest to celebrate for his - soul and the souls of all the faithful departed for three years after - his burial, L15. To the Abbot and Convent of Eglyston, 20_s._ To every - priest of Castle Barnard present at his obsequies, 2_s._; to every - other priest present, 12_d._; to be distributed on the day of his - burial four marks. He leaves to the chapel of Castle Barnard a - "Legenda Aurea" to Sir John Drawlace, junior chaplain, a book which is - called "Gemma Ecclesiae," and all his other books he gives and - bequeaths to William de Kirkby, son of Ada de Kyrkby, my late brother, - "and this if it so happen that he shall have been made a presbyter, - but if not they shall be sold and the price of them given for my - soul," as his executor shall think best. He leaves to Sir Thomas of - Langton, chaplain, a toga of sanguine color furred; a chalice worth - 40_s._, or 40_s._ of English money (_monetae Angliae_), to keep up the - altar light of the blessed Mary of Castle Barnard. He leaves to - William, his brother, a horse, viz. Bay, and 20_s._; to Thomas de - Kyrkby, his cousin (_cognatus_), 6 stone of wool and 2 marks; to - Richard de Kyrkby, his _cognatus_, a cow, viz. the best, and a bed - suited to his condition, and 4 stone of wool, with 20_s._; to - Elizabeth, his _cognata_, a younger cow, a basin and ewer and a bed - suited to her, and 2 stone of wool, with 13_s._ 4_d._ To Thomas of - Gedworth, his chamberlain, a grey horse, a cow, a red bed, and all his - arrows, a best hauberk, a "brestplate," and a pair of vambraces and - also of rerebraces, a pair of "Whysshewes Grenyce," a basinet with - aventale, and a pair of gauntlets of plate, and 20_s._ He leaves to - Henry Smyth 9 matrices (ewes?), with 5 lambs, or the price of them, - and two pair of sheets, and 6_s._ 8_d._ He leaves to Thomas de Kyrkby, - clerk, a green toga and 6_s._ 8_d._ To Alice Kyrkby, his brother's - widow, 12 best silver spoons worth 36_s._, and a covered piece of - silver (_unam peciam coopertam argenteam_) ... and a best bed, with 4 - marks of lawful money (_monetae legalis_). He leaves to John Drawlace, - junior, chaplain, a silver piece not covered, and 6 silver spoons, and - a best toga. To Thomas Sowrale, chaplain, another toga, viz. of - Sendry, and a piece not covered, and 6 silver spoons. The rest of all - my goods he gives and bequeaths to the foresaid John Drawlace and - Thomas Sowrale, chaplains. Inventory:--In told money (_pecunia - numerata_), L36 13_s._ 4_d._; 3 pieces of silver with covers, 11 - marks, 6_s._ 8_d._; 2 pieces without covers, 12_s._; a silver-gilded - zone, 5 marks; another silver zone, 10_s._; 3 silver basilards, 2_s._ - 4_d._; a pair of bedes of amber and an Agnus Dei, 10_s._; two beds of - red colour covered with tapestry, 20_s._; two beds sanguine, 10_s._; a - little bed of sanguine worstett, 6_s._ 8_d._; a white bed, 3_s._ - 4_d._; 2 coverlets (coopercla), 6_s._; a whylt with 4 materesse, 6_s._ - 8_d._; 14 "lodices," 14_s._; 19 pair of sheets, 31_s._ 8_d._; a mantle - of red "fresed," 20_s._; 3 furred gowns, 40_s._; a "pylche of - stranlion," 20_s._; 3 _togae singulae_, 13_s._ 4_d._; 4 ells of woollen - cloth, viz. of sendry colour with a web of russet, 26_s._ 8_d._; - "_armatura_," 26_s._ 8_d._; 8 lb. of wax, 4_s._; a pair of - trussyngcofers, 4_s._; a wyrehatte, 5_s._; total, L62 6_s._ 8_d._ In - the _hall_, 2 dorsors with a banwher (banker),[175] 13_s._ 4_d._; 12 - whysshynes (cushions), 12_s._; 2 tables with trestles, 12_s._; a - cupboard (coppeburd), 6_s._ 8_d._; 2 basins and ewers, 4_s._ In the - _cellar_, a napkin (mappa) with 1 towel newly made, 3_s._; 10 old - napkins with 3 towels, 2_s._ 6_d._; 38 ells of linen cloth, 11_s._ - 1_d._; 3 pair of silver knives, 6_s._ 8_d._; 9 ells of linen cloth of - lake, 4_s._ 6_d._; 2 barrels and 4 stands, 2_s._ In the _kitchen_, 7 - brass pots, 7_s._; 4 griddles (_patellae_), 2_s._ 6_d._; 1 "_veru - ferreum_," 8_d._; 2 "dresshyng knyves," 7_d._; one lead (_unum - plumbum_) containing 32 bottles (lagenas), with 3 small leads, 8_s._; - 2 dozen _vasorum de electro_, 20_s._; a dozen of old _vasorum_, 6_s._ - 8_d._; 5 plates (_perapsides_) and 10 dishes (_disci_), 2_s._; a - frying-pan, 6_d._; a Rostyngiryn, 4_d._ In the _stable_, 2 grey - palfreys, L4; 2 horses, 26_s._ 8_d._; a mare, 4_s._ 4_d._; 5 saddles - with 4 bridles, 16_s._ 8_d._; a cart bound with iron with all fittings - (_omni apparatu_), 16_s._; 3 cows, 20_s._; 15 pigs with 5 little pigs, - 30_s._; 1 boar, 6_s._ 8_d._ _Granary_, 10 quart' of malt (_brasii - mixti_), 33_s._ 4_d._; wheat, barley, oats and peas not ground, L8. - Owing to him, L10 10_s._; 10 stone of iron, 5_s._; other utensils, - 10_s._; sum total, L99 11_s._ 3_d._[176] - - Peter de Bolton, Rector of Scrayngham, diocese of York (1414), leaves - 2-1/2 silver marks to the glass windows on the south side of the - chancel of his church. To the poor parishioners of Howshom and - Scrayngham, 20_s._ between them. For wax to be burned around his body - on the day of his burial, 10 lb. in 5 wax candles and 2 torches; to - the chaplain celebrating Divine service for one year in the said - chancel for the safety of his soul, 100_s._ "if my goods amount to - such a sum when my debts are paid." To the foresaid church of - Scrayngham a chalice and a white vestment (_vestimentum_) with a - chasuble (_casula_) powdered with red roses, and with albe, amice, - stole, and fanula (_maniple_), and corporal, with "_singulo_" and - frontal of the same work, and towell (tuall') annexed to the frontal, - with another tuall' for the altar; provided that the parishioners of - the said church of Scrayngham grant to him an old chasuble (_casula_), - in which I intend to be buried. He leaves to John Haydok 40_s._ for - his support at the schools; to William Bugdeyn 6_s._ 8_d._; to Alice - Laycester, of York, a toga talarem, long, reaching to the ancles of - tawny; to his clerk a hauberk (_lorica_), with ventaled basenet, a - pair of vanbraces and a pair of rerebraces, and a pair of gauntlets of - plate; to Robert Rokesby, servant of Master Robert Ragonhyll, 6_s._ - 8_d._; to the said Master Robert Ragonhyll, 13_s._ 4_d._; to Thomas - Byrkdale, my cousin, a basilard ornamented with silver and 6_s._ - 8_d._; to the wife of William Bugden, 40_d._; to Robert Saundby, - 2_s._; to Master John Stanton, 6_s._ 8_d._; to Sir Gilbert Haydok, - knyght, all my vessels of pewter; the rest to my executors.[177] - - Stephen le Scrop, Archdeacon of Richmond (1418), leaves, to the high - table of the altar of the church of St. Peter of York, my great jewel, - _ordinatum pro corpore Xti._ (to be appropriated to the Pyx?), and - three silver chargers of the best of my vessels, and a gold crucifix, - and an entire vestment of red cloth of gold with two copes of the same - suit.... To the fabric of the said church, L20; to each residentiary - canon with the precentor of the said church present at my obit, 6_s._ - 8_d._; to each parson, 2_s._; to each vicar, 20_d._; to each deacon, - sub-deacon, and thuribularius of the said church present at my obit, - 12_d._; to the sacrist, 10_s._; to the clerks (_clerus vestibuli_) of - the said church, 10_s._; to the "_mumdator_," 2_s._ To each of my - churches of Esyngwald, Knaresburgh, Thorntonsteward, Clapham, Bolton, - Arlecden, and Tallagham 10 marks, or a vestment of the value of 10 - marks; to my church of Horneby, 5 marks; to my church of Bishophill, 5 - marks, or a vestment at the discretion of my executors. To the - monastery of the blessed Mary of York, 40_s._, provided they ring and - celebrate my obit; to the friars of St. Leonard of York, 20_s._, - provided they ring and celebrate my obit; to the house of Monkton, - 100_s._, and 2 pieces of silk of red and green colour, for the high - altar; to every house of monks (_monalium_), and to each house of - friars within my archdeaconry, 20_s._; to the friars of St. Robert of - Knaresburgh, 40_s._; to his lady mother, a golden covered ciphum (cup) - with the inscription on the cover Good zere to his brother William, 12 - best silver dishes (discos) and 12 best silver "saucers;" to his - sister Matilda, 10 marks and a covered silver ciphum with the - inscription BENEDICTUS QUI VENIT IN NOMINE DOMINI, and a tablet of - ivory of two leaves bound with silver; to Master John Ermyn, his - official, a covered silver ciphum with the inscription CUJUS FINIS - BONUS TOTUM IPSUM BONUM, and a silver salt cellar (_salsarium_) not - covered; to Sir William Bamburgh a covered silver cipum with the name - JESUS on the top; to Master Peter Meland, a covered silver ciphum with - knop on the top; to the Hall of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary, - in Cambridge, in which _habitavi_ his Catholicon, etc., and a tall - silver-gilt covered ciphum with a long foot and _signatum_ with "ivyn - leves" (ivy leaves); to Brian of Plumpton, L10 and a covered silver - ciphum, with the arms of Yvo Souche on the top; to William Normanvyle, - 10 marks and a best ciphum not covered.... To John Semer, his - chamberlain, his best scarlet robe with _armilansa_, tabard, hood, and - their _pumates_, and fur trimmings, and 100_s._, Stephen del Courte, - armiger, John Hewet, his clerk, William Heth, Henry of the Kitchen, - Robert del Myre, William of the Chamber, Peter of the Kichen, William - Lynne, Walter Flette, his clerk, Godfrey the Cook, John Percy, Robert - of the Bakehouse, John Brod, Robert Walton, Robert Scolle, page of his - chamber, Thomas Baker; and whatever day of the year he may die that - the fees or wages of his servants be paid in full for that whole year. - Also he leaves a silver-gilt chalice cup, with a long foot, with a - knop at the top, a homiletorium and pair of gold beads, a pair of - beads of coral ornamented with gold and knops of perrle, 2 silver-gilt - covered ciphum of a suit, viz. chalice cups with knops of azure; 6 - dishes and 6 "saucers" of silver, with his arms, to John Newhouse, - chaplain; 8 marks a year for 5 years to celebrate at the altar of St. - Stephen,[178] in the Church of York, for the souls of himself, his - parents, brothers, sisters, his lord the archbishop, William Plumpton, - his friends, his servants, and of all the faithful departed, and that - he say daily the _exequiae defunctorum_. Also to William Tadcaster, - chaplain, the same sum for the same duties. 10 marks to the poor at - his burial. He leaves books of Sextum and the Constitutions of Otho - and Othobon, with John Aton, Decretales, Decreta, Hostiensis, to - friends for life, and afterwards to the Library of York. - - Thomas Hebbeden, Dean of the collegiate church of St. Andrew, of - Aukland, leaves to John Holhom, his nephew, his best sword and _unam - integram armaturam_.[179] - - Sir Richard Towgall, priest, 1441 (apparently a chantry priest at one - of the altars in Gateshead Church), leaves "unto Sir Johane huchinson, - my sister's soone, my best govne, and another govne that was Sir - Will'm Goolands, my best tippett, the best bonet, ... a rachytt, a - hangher, a mesbooke, a manuall, a doseyn aum' beids with a gyemis - ring, and all my books, with my bedde, that is to know a ffedour - bedde, a bowster, 2 codds ... blankets, 2 coverletts, 2 scheyts.... To - Robert huchinson my second gown, two dovbletts, and my hose. To the - aforesayd Robert's wyfe, a govn whiche I ware on Sondays, and to bessy - chawmere, my blake govne. I give unto Jennet appelbe a yron chimnaye, - a coffer, and a mantil. Unto Marg, his sistar, a counter and a pair of - amber (avmer) bedys garded with silver gardis. To St. Cuthbart's - gilde, if it shall go on, 2 westments with ther albs, 2 altare - cloythes, 1 towell, 2 candlesticks, 1 antiphonal, 1 prosessiner, a - dirige book, and a pax. To Jennet Wawton 111_d._ and my dayly govne. - My chalys unto the chirche of this condition, and if it please God - that thair fawll a chantre within this forsayth chirche beyinge at the - p'oshinars gyfte, and the p'oshinars be so good unto my cousinge, Sir - Johane, as to gyve and promote hym beforr another, this doven, than - this chalys to stand as gyft, and if not, to go to my executors."[180] - - By his will, dated 1491, Sir John Newys, Vicar of Tillingham, makes - various bequests to his church, and leaves L6 8_s._ 4_d._ for a priest - to sing for his soul for a year; he gives to Sir Richard Mortimer, his - parish priest [_i.e._ his assistant curate], his portuous, and his - long gown of musterdeviles with the hood; he leaves, besides, to - different people, his best gown, his two red doublets, and best pair - of hozen, his satten doublet, his new furred gown, his long green - gown, and his long russet gown, and his old hozen.[181] - - Robert Hyndmer, Rector of Sedgefield's will, 1558, is accompanied by a - very full inventory of the house furniture and belongings of a - well-to-do man. He leaves, among other things, a ring of gold with a - dark ruby in it, and another gold ring with a red seal of an image; - 180 ounces of plate at 5_s._ the ounce, and in money and gold, L116. - - John Honynghym, Rector of Waldegrave, 1417, leaves 100_s._ for the - making of a vestment for use at the high altar of the church of St. - Peter, in Walgraf, London. He leaves his "best bible," which begins In - S{o} filio dei in actibus [_sic_], also his portiforium of the Use of - York. He leaves to William Bryht, Rector of S. Michael's, Cornhill, a - gilt zone, which is in his hospitium in London, as recompense for - having kept a book of his called "Gorham Copwood"; and leaves his - sword to Nicholas Dixon. He leaves a book called "Speculum Curatorum," - a book of sermons which the late Prior of Bartholomew's composed, - Gorham super Mattheum, Bartholomeus de Casibus, his great missal, and - great new portiforium. - - Robert Newby, Rector of Whyttchurche, and official of the Archdeacon - of Oxford, 1412, leaves to his brother his sword, etc., and to his - daughter his scarlet gown. - - Thomas de la Mare, Canon of York, A.D. 1258, bequeaths 2 falcons to - his brother and cousin. He mentions his falconer among his servants, - and leaves him a "laner" and 20_s._ He had several horses, the names - of some being given; one was "Turnebull," another, "Bayard de - Wirethorp," and a third, "Morell de Welwick." - - Says the author of "Dives and Pauper," "These men of holy church that - buckle their shoes of silver and use great silver harness in their - girdles and knives, and men of religion--monks and canons and such - like--that use great ouches of silver and gold on their capes to - fasten their hoods against the wind, and ride on high horses with - saddles harnessed with gold and silver more pompously than lords, are - strong thieves and do great sacrilege, so spending the goods of holy - church on vanity and pride, in lust of the flesh, by which things the - poor should live." - -Some of these clergymen, it will be noticed, had one black toga, not for -usual wear in Divine service, for we shall see elsewhere that the clergy -wore their albes over the red and blue gowns of ordinary use, but perhaps -for mourning occasions. Thus, in the presentations of York Cathedral, in -1519, "we thynke it were convenient that whene we fetche a corse to the -churche, that we shulde be in our blak abbettes mornyngly (habits -mourningly) w{t} our hodes of the same of our hedes, as is used in many -other places." - -The use by the clergy of clothes of a dark colour was probably coming in -in the latter part of the fifteenth century. Holinshed, the chronicler of -Elizabeth, attributes this change to the influence of the universities: - - Before the universities bound their graduates to a stable attire, - afterwards usurped also even by the blind Sir Johns, "the clergy wore - garments of a light hue, as yellow, red, green, etc., with their shoes - piked, their hair crisped, their girdles armed with silver, their - shoes, spurs, bridles, etc., buckled with like metal, their apparel - (for the most part) of silk, and richly furred, their caps laced and - buttoned with gold."[182] - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -FABRIC AND FURNITURE OF CHURCHES, AND OFFICIAL COSTUME OF PRIESTS. - - -It is not necessary to describe the churches of mediaeval England, for -happily they still exist of all periods and styles, from the rude Saxon -church built of split oak or chestnut trunks, at Greenstead, in Essex, -down to the noble perpendicular churches of the close of the fifteenth -century. - -We may, however, make two remarks upon them. First, the comparative -magnitude and sublimity of the churches was far greater in the times when -they were built. The contrast between the village church and the cots of -the peasantry around it, and even the small, lowly, half-timber manor -house in its neighbourhood; the contrast between the town churches and the -narrow streets of timber houses; still more the contrast between the great -cathedrals and monastic churches and all the habitations of men; fills us -with admiration of the splendid genius of the men who designed them, and -the large-minded devotion of the men who caused them to be built. - -[Illustration: Saffron Walden Church, Essex.] - -The second remark which we have to make is that, though we have the old -churches, they are, for the most part, stripped of all their ancient -decorations and furnishing; and that it requires some ecclesiological -knowledge and some power of imagination to realize their ancient beauty. -If we want to replace before the mind's eye the sort of church in which a -fourteenth or fifteenth century rector or vicar said the Divine service -continually, we shall have the advantage of finding the church still -existing, perhaps with very little alteration in its general architectural -outline; but we shall have to imagine the walls covered with fresco -painting of Old and New Testament story; the windows filled with gem-like -glass; the chancel screens and the rood loft with its sacred figures; the -chantry chapels; the altar tombs with effigies of knight and lady; the -lights twinkling before altar, rood and statue. - -[Illustration: Market Harborough Church, Leicestershire.] - -[Illustration: Chapel of Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey.] - - * * * * * - -We shall see from the Constitution of Archbishop Gray, quoted below, that -the parishioners were, by ancient custom, liable for the maintenance and -repair of the body and tower of their church; the fifth of the -"extravagants" of Stratford, Archbishop of York (1342),[183] records that -this was done by means of a proportionate tax on the estates and farms of -the parish. From the records of bishops' Visitations, we learn, further, -that the bishops exercised greater power in the matter of church building -in old times than they do now. They had not only the power to require that -the church should be kept in good repair, but that, where necessary, it -should be enlarged. Thus, Bishop Stapledon (1309) orders the parishioners -of Ilfracombe, since the church is not capable of holding all the -parishioners, to enlarge it by lengthening the body of the church by 24 -feet at least, and adding two aisles, within two years, under a penalty of -L40.[184] - -At a Visitation of Sturton parish church, in 1314, in the time of the same -bishop, it was returned that, in addition to defects in the furniture, the -church is too small (_strictus_) and dark; the nave of the church -likewise. Therefore, "the lord bishop enjoins the rectors, vicar, and -parishioners, that they cause the said defects to be made good, according -to what belongs to them severally, before the next feast of St. Michael, -under penalty of L20 to the fabric of the [cathedral] Church of Exeter; -except the construction of the new chancel and the enlargement of the -church, and they to be done before St. Michael day twelve-month."[185] - -From the thirteenth century we have full information of the furniture and -utensils, vestments, and books which the canons required to be provided in -every church for the performance of Divine service and the ministration of -the offices of the Church. Walter Gray, Archbishop of York, c. 1250, made -a constitution which we subjoin; and similar lists occur from time to -time, for both provinces, in visitation inquiries, inventories and -constitutions;[186] _e.g._ in the Constitutions of Robert of Winchelsea, -Archbishop of Canterbury, 1305. - - Since much altercation has arisen between some of the rectors and - vicars and their parishioners about the various ecclesiastical - ornaments as to what it belonged to the rectors or their vicars to - provide and maintain and what to the parishioners, we ordain and - appoint that the parishioners provide a chalice, missal, the principal - vestment of the church, viz. a chasuble, white albe, amice, stole, - maniple, zone, with three towels, a corporal, and other decent - vestments for the deacon and sub-deacon, according to the means of the - parishioners and of the church, together with a principal silk cope - for chief festivals, and with two others for the rulers of the choir - in the foresaid festivals, a processional cross and another smaller - cross for the dead, and a bier for the dead, a vase for holy water, an - osculatory, a candlestick for the Paschal candle, a thurible, a - lantern with a bell, a Lent veil, two candlesticks for the taper - bearers; of books, a Legendary, Antiphonary, Gradual, Psalter, - Topiary, Ordinale, Missal, Manual; a frontal to the great altar, three - surplices, a suitable pyx for the "Corpus Christi," a banner for the - Rogations, great bells with their ropes, a holy font with fastening, a - chrismatory, images in the church, and the principal image in the - church of the person to whom the church is dedicated, the repair of - books and vestments so often as they require repair; and in addition - to all the aforesaid things a light in the church, the repair of the - nave of the church, with its bell-tower, internally and externally, - viz. with glass windows, with the enclosure of the cemetery, with - other things belonging to the nave of the church, and other things - which by custom belong to the parishioners. To the rectors or vicars - belong all other things according to various ordinances, viz. the - principal chancel with its repairs both in walls and roofs and glass - windows belonging to the same, with desks and forms and other - ornaments suitable, so that with the prophet they may be able to sing, - "Lord, I have loved the honour of Thy house," etc. As to the manse of - the rectory and its repair, and other things which are not written in - this book, let the rectors or vicars know that they may be compelled - by the ordinary of the place, to do according to this constitution and - others in this case provided.[187] - -This is the formal catalogue of the minimum which the law required the -parson and the parishioners to provide and maintain. But people were not -satisfied with doing only what they were obliged to do. A considerable -number of inventories exist of the treasures which had gradually -accumulated as the gifts of pious benefactors to the cathedrals and -churches: shrines, reliquaries, statues, crosses, mitres, pastoral staves, -lamps and candlesticks, chalices, patens, pyxes, paxes, censers, -processional crosses of gold and silver, often set with precious stones; -altar cloths, hangings, palls,[188] vestments of the costliest fabrics, -many of them embroidered, and often ornamented with precious stones. When -we add the paintings of stained and sculptured marble, and carved woodwork -of the fabric, and the monuments with their recumbent statues, and call to -mind that the best art of the period was devoted to these works, we -recognize that the churches of the country were treasures of art. Even the -humblest village churches often possessed noble tombs of the local lords, -and their gifts of ornaments of costly material and fine workmanship. - -[Illustration: PROCESSION OF BISHOPS WITH CROSS BEARER, THURIFER, HOLY -WATER BEARER, PRIESTS, CANONS AND BISHOPS. FROM THE XV. CENT. MS., -TIBERIUS, B VIII., f. 43.] - -If we wish to see our priests as they ministered in church, it will be -necessary to describe the vestments which were worn by them in those -days.[189] - -It is a little doubtful what they wore at the very beginning of our -English Church history. The British bishops, no doubt, from early times -down to the sixth century, wore the white tunic with long sleeves, which -from its general colour was called the albe. The bishops and priests of -the Celtic school who clung to the old usages were probably still wearing -the pallium when Augustine came to Kent. But about that time the pallium -was being superseded by a newer vestment called the planeta or chasuble, a -circle of linen or other material with a hole in the middle through which -the head was passed, so that the garment fell in folds all round the -person. Very likely Augustine and the Continental school of clergy wore -this new garment, and it would be adopted by the Celtic school when they -accepted the Continental usages. The chasuble continued to be worn at the -altar down to the end of the Middle Ages with a slight modification in -shape; the voluminous folds in which it was gathered over the arms, when -the hands were in use, were practically inconvenient, and so the circle -came to be contracted into an oval, and then the ends of the oval were -shaped to a point. - -The orarium, which afterwards came to be called the stole, was originally -a prayer-veil worn over the head by the priests and people of heathen Rome -when they attended a sacrifice. It had an embroidered border which fell -round the neck and shoulders. In course of time the veil was narrowed to -its embroidered border, and was lengthened into a kind of scarf, worn over -the shoulders and hanging down in front. A deacon wore the stole over one -shoulder. - -In early times the priest and deacon bore a napkin, called the fanon or -maniple, over the left arm, with which to wipe the edge of the chalice; -but this also was in time reduced to a strip of embroidered material. - -The amice was a linen hood worn with the chasuble, placed over the head -while the chasuble was put on, and then thrown back; so that it was seen -only like a loose fold of linen round the neck. - -The dalmatic was another upper garment, in form like a wide short tunic -slit up at the sides, with short wide sleeves; and about the tenth -century it became the distinctive upper vestment of the deacon. A little -later the sub-deacon wore a tunicle, which was a scantier dalmatic. - -We often find "a suit of vestments" mentioned in inventories and wills, -and in several places it is defined in detail as a chasuble, two tunicles, -three albes, and three amices, the vestments needed by the celebrant, his -deacon, and sub-deacon; the chasuble and tunicles would be of the same -material, colour, and style of ornamentation. - -The cope was simply a cloak. The shape in which we first find it as an -ecclesiastical vestment was an exact semicircle, usually with an -ornamented border along the straight side, which, when worn, fell down in -two lines of embroidery in front. It was originally a protection from the -weather, as indicated by its name "Pluviale," and by the hood, which is so -integral a part of the original idea of the garment, that for centuries a -flat triangular piece of ornamental work was sewn at the back of the cope, -to represent this hood. It first appears as a clerical vestment about the -end of the ninth century, and was worn in processions and in choir. - -The surplice is the most modern of the clerical vestments. The fashion, -introduced about the eleventh century, of having the tunic lined with fur, -was found very comfortable by the clergy in their long services in cold -churches; but the strait, girded albe looked ungraceful over it, and so -the albe was enlarged into a surplice, to be worn in all minor offices -over the furred robe, as its name, _superpelliceum_, indicates, while the -albe continued to be used in the Eucharistic Service. - -[Illustration: Bishop and Canons, from Richard II.'s "Book of Hours," -British Museum.] - -The shape of the surplice differs much in different examples. We give some -illustrations in which it will be seen that the surplice of a canon is -long and ample, while that of a clerk is little wider than an albe, but -has wide sleeves and is not girded. In an inventory of the goods of St. -Peter, Cornhill, at the time of the Reformation, we find "gathered -surplices" for the "curate," and "plain surplices" for the choir.[190] - -Canons in choir wore over the surplice a short furred cope or cape, called -an amyss, with a fur-lined hood attached, of curious shape, as shown in -several of our illustrations. Bishops wore the whole series of vestments -with the addition of mitre, jewelled gloves and shoes, and carried a -pastoral staff. - -The furniture of the churches and the vestments of its ministers were of -very different degrees of beauty and cost--from altar vessels of simple -silver of rude country make up to vessels of gold fashioned by great -artists and enriched with jewels; from a simple linen chasuble up to copes -and chasubles of cloth of gold, enriched with embroidery of high artistic -merit and adorned with gems. - -After these dry technicalities, we have only to illustrate the vestments -as they appeared in actual use by some pictures from illuminated -manuscripts and other sources, with a few explanatory notes where they -seem to be necessary. Once granted that some distinctive dress is becoming -and desirable for the clergy in their ministrations, and the rest is mere -matter of taste. There is nothing mysterious about the mediaeval vestments. -They were all at first (except the Orarium) ordinary articles of everyday -apparel, worn by clergy and laity alike. But it has always been thought -right that the clergy should not be in too great haste to follow new -fashions, and so they went on wearing fashions till they were obsolete; -moreover, some of these copes and planetas were costly vestments given by -kings and great men expressly to be worn in Divine service, and had been -worn by saints, and had come to have venerable associations, and no one -wished to discard them; and so they came to be distinctive and venerable. - -Imaginative people soon invented a symbolical meaning for the various -vestments, and other imaginative people varied the symbolism from time to -time. St. Isidore of Seville, in the sixth century, saw in the white -colour of the albe a symbol of the purity which becomes the clerical -character, and that was so obvious and simple, that it continued to be the -recognized meaning all through the ages. Of the chasuble, St. Germanus of -Constantinople, in the eighth century, says it is a symbol of our Lord's -humility; Amalarius of Metz, in the ninth century, says it means good -works; and Alcuin, in the tenth century, takes it to signify charity, -because it covers all the other vestments as charity excels all other -virtues. Later writers made the dalmatic, because it is in the shape of a -cross, signify the Passion of our Lord; the stole, the yoke of Christ; and -so forth.[191] - -There is a fashion in clerical vestments as well as in the clothes of the -laity; the forms of the cope, chasuble, etc., at different times are -sufficiently shown in our illustrations to make description unnecessary. -We may make the one remark, that whereas the cope and chasuble of the -thirteenth and fourteenth centuries are of pliant material and skilful -fashion, and fall in graceful folds, the like vestments in the sixteenth -century came to be made of stiff material unskilfully shaped; in the -seventeenth century the chasuble has its sides entirely cut away, of -necessity, because the arms were unable to act under the weight and -rigidity of the material, while the back and front hang down like boards -cut into the shape of a violoncello.[192] - -[Illustration: Goodrich, Bishop of Ely. (From his monumental brass.)] - -It will be convenient to introduce here, from the monumental brass of -Bishop Goodrich, 1554 A.D., an example of late date, in which the -vestments are very clearly drawn, and briefly to enumerate them. The albe -reaches to the feet, the piece of embroidery upon it being one of five -such pieces, in front and back at the feet, on the wrists, and on the -breast, symbolizing the "five wounds" of our Lord. Over that may be seen -the lower part of the sub-deacon's tunicle; over that the ends of the -stole; then the dalmatic; and over all the chasuble. The embroidered -vestment round the shoulders is probably the "rationale," an ornament rich -with gold and jewels, worn by some bishops in this country. The plain -fillet round the neck is the linen amice. The jewelled mitre and the -pastoral staff need no description. The hands are covered with gloves of -gauntlet shape, and the tassel with which the wrist terminates will be -evident to careful observation. The maniple will be seen hanging over the -left wrist. The book held in the right hand is probably the Bible, and the -seal dependent from the same hand is the badge of this bishop's civil -office of Lord Chancellor. - -[Illustration: Abbot Delamere. St. Albans.] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE PUBLIC SERVICES IN CHURCH. - - -The public services on Sunday in a parish church were Matins, Mass, and -Evensong. We do not propose more than to take an outside view of them; the -reader who cares to do so may without difficulty obtain a missal and -breviary, and study their contents. We may, however, make two remarks -bearing upon the important general question of the popular religion of -these Middle Ages. The first is that there is a widespread error on the -subject of the "Mass" in the minds of those who have never opened a -missal. It is taken for granted that it was the most corrupt and -idolatrous feature of all the Roman corruptions; on the contrary, the -Eucharistic service of the Mediaeval English Church was very little altered -in substance from that of the sixth century, and is so sound that it is -inconsistent with some of the modern Roman corruptions in doctrine and -practice. The Matins and Evensong of those times consisted of an -accumulation of several of the "Hour" offices; and the Morning and -Evening Prayer of our Prayer-book consists of a condensation of those same -"Hours;" so that the regular popular services were far more free from -corruptions and superstitions than is commonly supposed. These were to be -found chiefly in glosses on the services, and additions to them. - -It is probable that the Sunday services were attended with fair regularity -by the majority of the people.[193] Not only did the clergy exercise more -authoritative oversight over their people than they do in these times, but -it was the duty of churchwardens to present people who were flagrantly -negligent of their religious duties, and of the Ecclesiastical Courts to -punish them.[194] - -The times of service varied in different times and places, but they were -earlier than our present usage. - -It is certain that matins always preceded the Divine service,[195] and it -is probable that the normal time for the latter was nine o'clock;[196] it -was not considered right to celebrate it after twelve o'clock. - -If not every Sunday, at least at certain times a sermon was preached, -about which we shall have to speak more at large presently. All the people -who were of age and not excommunicate were communicants, but the vast -majority only communicated once a year, at Easter, some pious people a -little more frequently, but the most devout not oftener than twelve times -a year.[197] But at every celebration a loaf of bread, the "holy loaf," -was blessed, and broken or cut in pieces, and given to the people. Here -comes in a question whether the laity attended mass fasting. It would seem -that it was not necessary, since they did not communicate, but that they -may have done so out of reverence is suggested by a note in Blunt's -Annotated Prayer-book, that those who had not come fasting to the service, -did not eat their portion of the "holy loaf," but gave it to another, or -reserved it for future consumption. People dined no doubt immediately -they reached their homes after service. - -Probably the evensong at about three in the afternoon was not so well -attended as the morning service; people who have some distance to go in -all weathers from their homes to the church do not usually go twice a day. -It was probably the general custom to catechize the children in the -afternoon. - -All this is illustrated by some extracts from the author of "Piers -Plowman":-- - - For holy church exhorteth All manner of people - Under obedience to be, And buxom to the Law. - First religious of Religion their Rule to hold, - And under obedience to be by days and by nights; - Lewd[198] men to labour, lords to hunt - In friths and forests for fox and other beasts, - That in wild woods be, And in waste places, - As wolves that worry men, Women and children; - And upon Sunday to cease, God's service to hear, - Both Matins and Masse, And after meat in churches - To hear their Evensong Every man ought. - Thus it belongeth to Lord, to learned, and to lewd, - Each holy day to hear Wholly the service, - Vigils and fasting days Further to know.[199] - -Sloth said, in a fit of repentance-- - - Shall no Sunday be this seven years, Except sickness hinder, - That I shall not go before day To the dear church, - And hear Matins and Masse, As if I a monk were; - Shall no ale after meat Hold me thence - Till I have Evensong heard, I swear to the Rood.[200] - -This confirms our statement that on Sundays people generally went to -matins and mass, and afterwards to dinner; and in the afternoon to -evensong. Sloth is boasting when he says that in future he will go to -church before day like a monk; ordinary lay people did not do so; and he -admits the fault of sitting over the ale after dinner, instead of going to -evensong. - -There seems to have been a certain laxity of practice in those days as in -these. We all know that it was the custom in many country churches in -modern times--and very likely still is so in some--not to begin the -service until the squire came; we are shocked to find that it was so in -those earlier times, and that the squire was sometimes very late. This is -illustrated by two of the very curious stories in the "Book of the Knight -of La Tour Landry."[201] - - I have herde of a knight and of a lady that in her (their) youthe - delited hem to rise late. And so they used longe tille many tymes that - thei lost her masse, and made other of her paryshe to lese it, for the - knight was lord and patron of the churche, and therefor the priest - durst not disobeye hym. And so it happed that the knight sent unto the - chirche that thei shulde abide hym. And whane he come it was passed - none, wherefor thei might not that day have no masse, for every man - saide it was passed tyme of the day, and therefore thei durst not - singe. - -The other story is of - - a ladi that dwelled faste by the chirche, that toke every day so long - time to make her redy, that it made every Sunday the parson of the - chirche and the parisseners to abide after her. And she happed to - abide so longe on a Sunday that it was fer dayes, and every man said - to other, "This day we trow shall not this lady be kemed and arraied." - -[Illustration: ELEVATION AT MASS. FROM THE LATE XV. CENT. MS. 25698, f. -2.] - -We read also of instances on fast days, when men might not eat till after -evensong, of evensong being said at noon. - -After mass on Sunday, it was not very uncommon for a pedlar to take the -opportunity of the assembling of the people to display his wares in the -churchyard, in spite of injunctions to the contrary. And after evensong, -the young people took advantage of their holiday to play at games, -sometimes in the churchyard.[202] - -An inquiry[203] by Cardinal Pole, in 1557, whether taverns and ale houses -opened their doors on Sundays and holy days in time of mass, matins, and -evensong, indicates that the law required them to be closed at those -times, but permitted them to be open at other times on Sundays and holy -days. - -The churchgoing habits of clergy and people on other days than Sundays and -holy days are not so easily arrived at. There is no proof that a daily -celebration was ordered in the Saxon Church; after the Norman Conquest, a -weekly celebration was ordered.[204] There is no canon of the English -Church which imposes a daily celebration on the clergy; by a Constitution -of Peckham,[205] they are required to say mass once a week, and that, if -possible, on a Sunday; at a later period it became the general practice -for a priest to say his daily mass. Where the services of the church were -regularly performed, it is probable that the parish priest said the Divine -service every day, either in the parish church or in one of its chapels, -if it had any; and that he also said matins and evensong; but it is not -unlikely that in many country parishes there was an amount of laxity. We -have seen that the inhabitants of hamlets who were solicitous about the -services in their chapel were content with it on three days a week, viz. -Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday; and we should not be surprised to be told -that in many of the rural parish churches it was not said more frequently, -or indeed more frequently than on Sundays and holy days. - -As for the attendance of the laity on daily service, we have given reasons -in the chapter on domestic chapels for believing that it was the custom of -the nobility and those of the higher classes who had domestic chapels and -chaplains to have a daily celebration of mass, matins, and evensong. - -There is a passage in the "Vision of Piers Plowman" (Passus V.) which -seems to indicate that this was the case in churches also-- - - The king and his knights to the church wenten, - To hear matins and mass, and to the meal after. - -But the services were likely to be duly performed in any church which "the -king and his knights" were likely to attend, and in the principal churches -in towns, and in well-served churches everywhere; we only doubt it in many -of the churches and chapels in rustic parishes where devotion was cold and -discipline slack, or the number of the clergy insufficient. - -At the ordinary daily services in parish churches it is very likely that -there was some congregation; for attendance on the Divine service was -highly regarded as a pious exercise, and pious people who had the -leisure--women especially--would be likely to attend it; the custom of -gathering poor people into almshouses in which they formed a kind of -religious community with their chaplain, chapel, and daily prayers, would -be likely to have its counterpart in the attendance of the pensioners of -the parish church at the daily service in it; but it is unlikely that it -was ever customary for the middle class, still less the lower class of -laymen, engaged in the active business of life, to attend daily mass, or -matins, or evensong, as a habit of their religious life. - - * * * * * - -The Bidding Prayer, being in English, was a popular part of the service. -It was usually, from the eleventh century onward, said from the pulpit -before the sermon. It differed somewhat in various places and at -different periods; but the following example, taken from "The York -Manual," is a fair example of the class: - - _Prayers to be used on Sundays._[206] - - To God Almighty and the glorious Virgin Mother, our lady S. Mary, and - all the glorious company of heaven. - - For the Pope and his Cardinals, for the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and - for the holy cross, that God bring it out of the heathen men's hands - into Christian men's keeping. - - For the Archbishop of this see, and the Bishops, etc. - - For the Parson of this church [and others] that hath the cure of men's - souls, that God give them grace well to teach their subjects, and the - subjects well to work after heleful teaching, that both the teachers - and subjects may come to everlasting bliss. - - For all priests and clerks who sing in this church, and any other, - etc. - - For the King and Queen, the peers and lords, and all the good - Commoners of this land, and especially for those that hath the good - council of the land to govern, that God give them grace such counsel - to take and ordain, and so for to work thereafter that it may be - loving to God Almighty, and profit and welfare to the royalme, and - gainsaying and reproving of our enemy's power and malice. - - For all that worship in this church, or any other, with book, bell, - vestment, chalice, altar-cloth, or towell, or any other ornament, etc. - - For all that give or leave in testament any good to the right - maintenance and upholding of the work of this Church, and for all them - that find any Light in this Church as in torch, taper, land, in - worshipping of God or of our Lady or of any of His Saints. - - For all our good parishioners wheresoever they be, on water or on - land, that God of His goodness save them from all manner of perils, - and bring them safe where they would be in health of body and soul and - also of goods. - - For all that are in debt or deadly sin, that God for His great mercy - bring them soon thereof; and for all those that are in good living, - that God maintain them and give them good perseverance in their - goodness; and that these prayers may be heard and sped the sooner - through your prayers, every man and woman that here is, help them - heartily with a _Pater Noster_ and an _Ave Maria_, etc. - - Deus misereatur [the whole Psalm]. - Gloria Patri. - Kyrie Eleyson, etc. - Pater noster ... et ne nos ... sed libera. - Sacerdotes tui induantur justitia. - Et sancti tui exultent, etc. - Et clamor meus ad te veniat. - Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo. - Oremus [three Latin prayers]. - - Ye shall kneel down devoutly and pray for the brethren and sisters of - St. Peter of York, St. John of Beverley, St. Wilfred of Ripon, and St. - Mary of Southwell; and specially for all those that be sick in this - parish or any other, that God in His goodness release them from their - pains in their sickness, and turn them to the way that is most to - God's pleasure and welfare of their souls. - - We shall pray for all those that duly pay their tendes [tithes] and - their offerings to God and to the holy Church, that God do them meed - in the bliss of heaven that ever shall last, and they that do not so - that God of His mercy bring them soon to amendment. - - We shall pray for all true pilgrims and palmers wheresoever they be, - on water or on land, that God of His goodness grant them part of our - good prayers and us part of their good pilgrimages. - - We shall also pray for all land tylland [under cultivation], that God - for His goodness and for His grace and through our good prayers - maintain them that they may be saved from all evil winds and wethers - and from all dreadful storms, that God send us corn and cattle for to - live upon to God's pleasure and the welfare of our souls. - - We shall pray also for all women that be with child in this parish or - any other, that God comfort them, and send the child Christendom, and - the mother Purification of holy Church, and releasing of pain in her - travailing. - - We shall pray specially for them that this day gave bread to this - Church for to be made holy bread of; for them that it begun and - longest uphold, for them and for us and for all them that need hath of - good prayers. - - In worship of our lady Saint Mary and her v joys, every man and woman - say in the honor of her v times _Ave Maria_. - - _Antiphona._--Ave, regina caelorum, - Mater regis angelorum; - O Maria flos virginum, - Velut rosa vel lilium, - Funde preces ad Filium - Pro salute fidelium. - V. Post partum virgo inviolata. - Gratiam tuam, etc. - - Oremus.--We beseech thee, O Lord, pour Thy grace into our hearts, that - we who have known Thy Incarnation by the message of an angel, by His - Cross and Passion may come to the glory of His Resurrection, through - the same Christ our Lord. Amen. - - Ye shall make a special prayer for your fathers' souls and for your - mothers' souls, godfathers' souls and godmothers' souls, brothers' - souls and sisters' souls, and for all your elders' souls, and for all - the souls that you and I be bound to pray for, and specially for all - the souls whose bones are buried in this church or in this churchyard - or in any other holy place; and in especial for all the souls that - bide the great mercy of Almighty God in the bitter pains of Purgatory, - that God for His great mercy release them of their pain if it be His - blessed will. And that our prayers may somewhat stand them in stead, - every man and woman of your church help them with a _Pater noster_ and - an _Ave Maria_. - - Psalmus: De profundis. - Kyrie Eleyson, etc. - Pater noster ... et ne nos ... - Requiem eternam. - Credo vivere. - A porta inferi. - Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo. - Oremus. - Fidelium Deus omnium Conditor, etc. - Fidelium animae per misericordiam Dei in pace requiescant. Amen. - -One of the features connected with this part of the service, which must -have had a striking effect, was the Bede Roll, the reading out the names -of those who had recently died in the parish, and the commendation of them -to the prayers of the congregation. There are examples of the payment of a -fee for placing a name on the list, and of people leaving money to the -priest for naming them from year to year on their anniversary, and of -endowments for the maintenance of the Bede Roll.[207] - -The Procession, or Litany, was also a very popular service; its petitions -and responses, though in Latin, were intelligible enough to the people; -and the procession of priest and clerks round the church with cross and -censer, while the petitions were chanted by a single voice, _Sancte -Katherine_; etc., _ora pro nobis_, and the responses sung in chorus, -"_Ora, ora, ora pro nobis!_" made up a very picturesque and solemn -service. It was probably usually said in the afternoon. A painful, but no -doubt very attractive, addition was sometimes made to it, when a miserable -penitent condemned to the penance preceded the procession in white sheet, -bearing a taper. - - * * * * * - -In churches in which there were one or more chantries the private masses -would be said at the convenience of the cantarists, with this one -regulation: that they might not on Sundays and festivals begin till after -the gospel of the principal service. People might attend these chantry -services if they pleased, and perhaps the relatives of persons -commemorated usually or frequently did so; and, if said at a different -hour from the principal service, they would practically add to the number -of services, and meet the convenience of some of the people. - -We shall see hereafter that chantry and special services were often -provided in towns by the corporation, or one of the gilds, or by some -group of persons, expressly to add to the number of services, first for -the greater honour of Almighty God, and secondly to meet the wishes and -circumstances of different people. - -In most great churches, with the normal services, and the chantry services -besides, services must have been going on all the morning long; sometimes -the great celebration at the high altar, and, at the same time, chantry -celebrations at a dozen altars besides in the surrounding chapels. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -PREACHING AND TEACHING. - - -There is a chain of evidences that the rulers of the Church not only -enjoined the diligent teaching of the people by their parish priests in -sermon[208] and otherwise, but also gave the clergy the assistance of -manuals of teaching and sermon helps; and, further, took pains at their -visitations to ascertain that the duty was efficiently performed. - -So early as the beginning of the eighth century, Aldhelm, Bishop of -Sherborne, published a poem in four hundred and fifty-eight Latin -hexameters, "De Octo[209] Principalibus Vitiis." - -[Illustration: PREACHING. FROM THE XIII. CENT. MS., EGERTON, p. 745, f. -46.] - -AElfric's address to the clergy (c. 1030) at the distribution of the chrism -seems to have been written for his Bishop Wulfsine to deliver to a -synodical assembly of the clergy of the Diocese of Sherborne. It is an -instruction to the clergy on the duties of their office; dealing first -minutely with their duty in baptism, unction, the eucharist, etc.; then it -bids them to know by heart and explain to the people the Ten Commandments, -and gives a brief explanation of each; then it goes on to explain the -eight[210] capital vices. It is the first which has been preserved to us -of a long series of synodal instructions. - -The Synod of Oxford, in 1223, enjoins the clergy "not to be dumb dogs, but -with salutary bark to drive away the disease of spiritual wolves from the -flock." A canon of Alexander of Stavenby, Bishop of Coventry (1224-1240), -requires all clergy to address to their people assembled on the Lord's Day -or other festival the following words:--the words constitute a rhetorical -sermon on the seven deadly sins. Another canon gives directions as to the -mode of receiving penitents, and dealing with souls. Grostete (1235-1254) -gave directions to his clergy to preach on Sundays, and gave them the -heads of their teaching. In Exeter, Bishop Quivil (1280-1292) drew up a -similar book for the clergy, of which he required every parish to have a -copy under penalty of a fine. Bishop Brentingham, of Exeter (1370-1395), -issued a mandate against intruding priests who would say low masses in -parish churches on Sundays and holy days, which parishioners attended -instead of the _Magna Missa_, and so lost the benefit of the sermon: this -assumes that a sermon is preached in all parish churches on Sundays and -holy days. Other diocesan bishops adopted similar methods. - -Archbishop Peckham, in the Constitutions of 1281, put forth a manual of -teaching on the Articles of Faith, the Ten Commandments, the Seven[211] -Deadly Sins, the Seven Principal Virtues, and the Seven Sacraments, so -fully and ably done that it continued to form a standard of teaching, and -is constantly referred to in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It -seems worth while to give it _in extenso_ as an authentic record of the -teaching of the Mediaeval Church. It appears as Canon X. of the Provincial -Synod of Lambeth, 1281, and begins with this preamble-- - - The ignorance of priests precipitates the people into the pit of - error, and the foolishness or rudeness of clerks, who ought to - instruct the minds of the faithful in the Catholic faith, sometimes - tends rather to error than to doctrine. Also some blind preachers[212] - do not always visit the places which most need the light of truth, as - the prophet witnesses, who says, "The children seek for bread, and - there is no one to break it to them;" and another prophet cries, "The - poor and needy ask for water, and their tongue is parched." For the - remedy of such mischiefs we ordain that every priest who presides over - a people do four times a year, that is, once in each quarter of the - year, on one or more festival days, either by himself or by another, - expound to the people in popular language without any fanciful - subtlety, the 14 Articles of Faith, the 10 Commandments of the Lord, - the 2 Evangelical Precepts of Charity, the 7 Works of Mercy, the 7 - Deadly Sins with their progeny, the 7 Principal Virtues, and the 7 - Sacraments of Grace. And in order that no one may excuse himself from - this on account of ignorance, though all ministers of the Church ought - to know them, we have here with great brevity summed them up. - - _Of the Articles of Faith._--Seven of them concern the mystery of the - Trinity; four of these belong to the essence of the Godhead, and the - other three relate to His works. The first is the unity of the Divine - Essence in three Persons of the Indivisible Trinity agreeably to this - part of the Creed, "_I believe in one God._" The second is to believe - God the Father, begotten of none. The third is to believe the Son the - only begotten, and God. The fourth is to believe the Holy Ghost to be - God, neither begotten nor unbegotten, but proceeding both from the - Father and the Son. The fifth article is to believe in the creation of - Heaven and Earth (that is, of every visible and invisible creature) by - the whole and undivided Trinity. - - The sixth is the Sanctification of the Church by the Holy Ghost, and - by the Sacraments of Grace, and by all those things in which the - Christian Church communicates. By which is understood that the Church, - with its Sacraments and discipline, is, through the Holy Ghost, - sufficient for the salvation of every sinner; and that outside the - Church there is no salvation. The seventh article is the consummation - of the Church in eternal glory by a true resurrection of body and - soul; and on the contrary is understood the eternal damnation of the - lost. - - _Of the Seven Articles relating to the Humanity of Christ._--The first - is His Incarnation, or His true assumption of human flesh of the - Blessed Virgin, by the Holy Ghost. The second is the real birth of - God Incarnate from the immaculate Virgin. The third is the true - passion of Christ and His death upon the Cross under Pontius Pilate. - The fourth is the descent of Christ in the Spirit into hell, while His - body remained in the grave, for the despoiling of Tartarus. The fifth - is the true Resurrection of Christ. The sixth is His Ascension to - heaven. And the seventh is the most confident expectation of His - coming to judgment. - - _Of the Ten Commandments._--Of the ten commandments of the Old - Testament three relate to God, and constitute the first table; the - remaining seven concern our neighbour, and are called the Commandments - of the Second Table. The First Commandment is,[213] _Thou shalt have - no other gods before Me_; by which all idolatrous worship is - forbidden; and by inference all lots and incantations and - superstitions[214] of letters, and such-like figments are forbidden. - In the Second, where it is said, _Thou shalt not take the Name of the - Lord thy God in vain_, all heresy is principally condemned; and, in a - secondary sense, all blasphemy, irreverent mention of the Name of God, - and especially perjury. The Third Commandment, where it is said, - _Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day_, commands Christian - worship, to which clergy and laity are alike bound. But we are to - understand that the obligation of rest upon the Jewish Sabbath came to - an end together with the other legal ceremonies; and that under the - New Testament came in the practice of Divine worship on the Lord's day - and other holy days appointed by the authority of the Church, and the - manner of keeping those days is to be governed by the laws of the - Church, and not by any Jewish usage. - - The First Commandment of the Second Table is, _Honour thy Father and - Mother_, in which we are explicitly commanded to honour our parents, - both in temporal and in spiritual matters; but implicitly, and in a - secondary sense, every man is by this commandment to be honoured - according to his proper degree; not only our natural father and mother - are intended, but our spiritual parents, the Bishop of the Diocese and - the Priest of the Parish, may be said to be our fathers; and the - Church is our Mother, who is the Mother of all the faithful. The - Second precept in this division is, _Thou shalt not kill_; by which - the unauthorized taking away any person's life, either by consent, - act, word, or encouragement, is explicitly forbidden, and implicitly - every unrighteous injury to the person. They likewise who do not - support the poor, they who murder a man's reputation, are guilty of - the breach of this Commandment; and so are all such as harass and - distress the innocent. The Third Commandment says, _Thou shalt not - commit adultery_. Adultery is explicitly condemned, and implicitly - fornication, which is likewise explicitly forbidden in Deuteronomy - xxiii., where it is said, "There shall be no whore of the daughters of - Israel." But, further, the command extends by way of reduction to all - instances of impurity. The Fourth Commandment declares _Thou shall not - steal_, which explicitly condemns the clandestine conveying away - another man's property without his consent, implicitly it forbids - taking what belongs to our neighbour either by fraud or violence. The - Fifth Commandment is, _Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy - neighbour_. This precept explicitly forbids false testimony to the - damage of our neighbour; and in a secondary sense it disallows undue - commendation in order to the promotion of an unworthy person. Lastly, - under this command, all sort of lies, but especially those which are - injurious, are condemned. The Sixth Commandment is, _Thou shalt not - covet thy neighbour's house_--i.e. to his injury. By this command we - are implicitly forbidden to desire the _real_ estate of our neighbour, - and especially if he is a Catholic. The Seventh and last Commandment - of the Table is, _Thou shalt not covet his wife, nor his servant, nor - his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his_, where - the coveting of our neighbour's stock or _personal_ estate is - forbidden. - - But to these Ten Commandments the Gospel superadds two, viz. _The Love - of God and of our neighbour_. He loves God who obeys the aforesaid - Commandments more out of love than out of fear of punishment; and - every one ought to love his neighbour as himself; where the particle - "_as_" does not signify equality but similarity. So that, for example, - you may love your neighbour to the same extent as you love yourself, - that is for good and not for evil; and in the same way that is - spiritually and not carnally; and as much as yourself, in regard to - time, that is in prosperity and adversity, in health and sickness; as - also as much as yourself in respect of degree, insomuch as you love - each and every man more than riches; also insomuch as you love the - soul of your neighbour, or his eternal salvation, more than your own - earthly life, as you ought to put the life of your soul before the - life of your body; also in the same kind as yourself, so that you - succour all others in need as you wish to be helped in like necessity. - All these things are meant when it is said "Thou shalt love thy - neighbour as thyself." - - _Of the Seven Works of Mercy._--Six of the Seven Works of Mercy may be - learned from St. Matthew's Gospel: _To feed the hungry; to give drink - to the thirsty; to entertain the stranger; to clothe the naked; to - visit the sick; to comfort those in prison_; the seventh is gathered - from Tobit--_to bury the dead_. - - The Seven Deadly or Capital Sins are Pride, Envy, Anger or Hatred, - Sloth, Avarice or Covetousness, Gluttony, Intemperance. Pride is the - love of one's own superiority (_amor propriae excellentiae_), from - whence spring boasting, ostentation, hypocrisy, schism (_sasinata_), - and such like. Envy is hatred of another's good: whence come - detraction, strife, complainings, dissension, perverse judgements, and - such like. Anger is the desire of revenge, of doing hurt to any - person, when it continues upon the mind it settles into hatred; whence - proceed outrage in words and acts, quarrels, murders, and such like. - Sloth (_accidia_)[215] is a strong indisposition for spiritual good, - so that a man has no delight in God or in His praises; out of it come - idleness, cowardice, despair, and the like. Avarice is an immoderate - love of riches, either by unlawful gathering or unlawful hoarding; out - of it spring fraud, theft, sacrilege, simony, and every sort of base - gain. Gluttony is an immoderate love of gratifying the palate in food - and drink, and it sins in many ways; first, in regard to time, when a - man eats too early or too late or too often; second, in respect to - quality, when he is too nice in the choice of his diet; third, in - respect of quantity, when he eats and drinks too much, which is the - most degrading form of gluttony; also in respect of avidity and - voracity, and lastly, in too nice a preparation of food so as to - excite the appetite; all which are contained in this verse-- - - "_Prae, propere, laute, nimis, ardenter, studiose_." - - Lastly, as for Luxuria, it is not needful to explain it, for its - infamy poisons the whole atmosphere. - - The Seven Principal Virtues are Faith, Hope, and Charity, which, - having God for their object, are called the Theological Virtues; and - the others, Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude, which relate - to ourselves and our neighbours. The action of Prudence is to make a - proper choice; of Justice to do what is good and right; of Temperance - not to be hampered by pleasures; Fortitude is not to desert our duty - for any pain or hardship. These are called the seven cardinal or - principal virtues, because from these seven many others are deduced; - concerning which, since we work chiefly for the benefit of the plainer - sort of people, we shall at present add no more. - - There are Seven Sacraments of the Church, the power of administering - which is committed to the clergy. Five of these Sacraments ought to be - received by all Christians in general; that is, Baptism, Confirmation, - Penance, the Holy Eucharist, and Extreme Unction, which last is only - for one who seems to be in danger of death; it should be given, if it - may be, before a man is so far spent as to lose the use of his reason; - but if he happens to be seized by a frenzy, or suffer from any - alienation of mind, this Sacrament ought nevertheless to be - administered to him, provided he gave signs of a religious disposition - before his mind was disturbed. Under such qualifications Extreme - Unction is believed to be beneficial to the sick person provided he is - predestinated (_predestinationis filius_), and either procures him a - lucid interval or some spiritual advantage. The other two Sacraments - are Order and Matrimony. The first belongs to the perfect, but the - second in the time of the New Testament belongs to the imperfect only, - and yet we believe that, by the virtue of the sacrament, it conveys - grace, if it is contracted with a sincere mind. - -Thoresby, Archbishop of York in 1357, commissioned John Graytrigg, a monk -of York, to write in English verse an exposition of these six things: The -Fourteen Points of the Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Seven Sacraments, -the Seven Works of Mercy, the Seven Virtues, the Seven Deadly Sins; and -this he sent to all his priests, and bade them teach them often to their -people, and urge them to teach their children; and to examine them as to -their knowledge when they come to confession in Lent. At a synod held at -Ely in 1364, priests were enjoined frequently to preach, to expound the -Ten Commandments, etc., to study the sacred Scriptures, to see that -children are taught prayers, and to examine adults when they come to -confession as to their religious knowledge. When Arundel, in 1408, forbade -preaching without a licence, he expressly excepted the parish priests, who -were bound to instruct their people in simple language. - -A provincial synod at York, under Archbishop Nevil, in 1465, orders -systematic teaching quarterly in simple language on points which the canon -elaborately sets forth. - - * * * * * - -There were numerous helps to preachers. AElfric, towards the end of the -Saxon period, freely translated forty homilies from Augustine, Jerome, -Bede, Gregory, and other great ancient writers, which were put forth for -the use of the clergy under the authority of Archbishop Siric; he -afterwards added forty others of a more legendary character; and there are -many other Saxon sermons still extant, printed by Wanley, Sharon Turner, -Thorpe, the Early English Text Society, etc. Of a later period there are -series of sermons by Grostete of Lincoln, FitzRalph of Armagh, and -literally hundreds of other writers, some for all the Sundays of the year, -some for the great festivals only. A series of sermons for Sundays and -feast days, by John Felton, Vicar of St. Mary Magdalene, Oxford, c. 1450, -seems to have been popular, since many manuscripts of it remain. The -"Liber Festivalis" of John Myrk, Canon of Lillieshall, was also popular; -Caxton's printed "Liber Festivalis" was founded upon it. The "Summa -Predicantium" is a book of sermon notes for preachers; the "Alphabetum -Exemplarium" is a collection of illustrations and anecdotes from which the -preacher might cull examples. - -The "Speculum Christiani," by John Watton, in the fourteenth century, was -intended, as is stated in the preface, to help the parish priests to carry -out Peckham's injunctions. A great part of it is in English, and it -contains rhymed versions of the Commandments to help the memory. Several -editions of it (one in 1480, at the cost of a London merchant) are among -the earliest printed books. The "Flos Florum" was another book of the same -class explaining the Lord's Prayer, Virtues, and Vices, etc. There were -also many private manuals instructing the clergy in all their duties: as -the "Pars Oculi Sacerdotis" of W. Parker, about 1350 A.D.; and the revised -edition of it, under the title of "The Pupilla Oculi" of Burgh, in 1385. - -These series of authoritative instructions are open to the criticism that -they are dry and formal, lacking evangelical tone and unction, manuals of -theology are apt to be dry and formal; the treatment of sins and virtues -is perhaps pedantic and fanciful, but it proves a searching analysis of -the human heart and conduct, and contains much which is striking and true. - -But there was another class of English books, like "The Prick of -Conscience" and other works of Richard the Hermit of Hampole[216] (died in -1349), and the "Speculum" of Archbishop St. Edmund Rich, in which we find -a vein of pious meditation, intended in the first instance for the use of -the clergy; but the pious thoughts of the clergy are not long in finding -their way to their tongues, and so to the ears and hearts of their people. -The religious poem of William of Massington, an advocate of the Court of -York, "On the Works of God and the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ," -etc., and a number of short poems, which have been printed in various -collections, give examples of the existence of the emotional element in -the popular religion in strains of considerable poetical and religious -merit. - -It is a very curious circumstance that many of these books are cast into a -poetical mould--Dom Johan Graytrigg's work is in the alliterative poetry -of Saxon and early English literature, and John Myrk's "Instructions" and -the "Lay Folks' Mass-book" are in rhyme, no doubt with the twofold purpose -of making them more attractive and more easily remembered. - -A remarkable feature of the moral teaching of the Middle Ages was its -minute analysis of sin. It divided sin into the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, -Envy, Anger, Sloth, Covetousness, Gluttony, Luxury; the list of them is -sometimes slightly varied. Then it divided each sin into its various -branches. It will be enough to quote from the "Argenbite of Inwit" the -analysis of the first of them--Pride. - -_Pride_ has seven boughs: Untruth, Contempt, Presumption, Ambition, -Vainglory, Hypocrisy, Wicked Dread. - -_Untruth_ has three twigs: Ingratitude, Foolishness, Apostasy. - -_Contempt_ is of three sorts: not praising others as they deserve; not -giving reverence where one ought; not obeying those who are over us. - -_Presumption_ has six twigs: Singularity, Extravagance, and also Strife, -Boasting, Scorn, Opposition. - -_Vainglory_ has three small twigs: God's gifts of Nature, Fortune, and -Grace. - -_Hypocrisy_ is of three kinds: Foul, Foolish, Subtle. - -The seventh bough of Pride is Wicked Fear and Shame. - -And so with the rest of the deadly sins. - -_Envy_ poisons the heart, mouth, and head. - -_Hatred_ has seven twigs: Chiding, Wrath, Hate, Strife, Vengeance, Murder, -War. - -_Sloth_ means yielding to our natural disinclination to good and proneness -to evil, and has six divisions: Disobedience, Impatience, Murmuring, -Sorrow, Desire of Death, Despair. - -_Avarice_ has ten divisions: Usury, Theft, Robbery, False Claim, -Sacrilege, Simony, Fraud, Chaffer, Craft, Wicked Gains. - -_Gluttony_ has five kinds; _Lechery_ fourteen. It is very pedantic in -form; but there is a keen insight into human frailty, and there are many -shrewd hits and pithy sayings, and it is lightened by anecdotes and -illustrations. Men nowadays would not have the patience to read it; but if -they did read and digest it, they might gain a great amount of -self-knowledge. - -Some similar treatises at the end of every deadly sin give its remedy, -also minutely analyzed.[217] Other subjects are treated by the same -method--the Seven Virtues, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, etc. -It is all dry reading, but it gives the patient reader valuable knowledge -of the attitude of men's minds in those days towards Christian faith and -practice. An evidence of the popularity of these treatises is given by the -fact that "The Parson's Tale" in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" is nothing -more or less than such a treatise on penitence, divided into three parts, -viz. Contrition, Confession, and Satisfaction; in the course of which the -Seven Deadly Sins, with their remedies, are dealt with in the usual -manner. - -People bestowed a great deal of ingenuity in representing these systems of -teaching by diagrams. A MS. Psalter of the thirteenth century (Arundel, -83) gives a number of them;[218] at f. 129 _verso_ is the _Arbor -Vitiorum_, a tree with seven principal branches, viz. the Seven Deadly -Sins, and their subordinate boughs and twigs as above. At f. 120 is the -_Arbor Virtutum_, treated in a similar way. At f. 130 the Seven Petitions -of the Lord's Prayer, the Seven Sacraments, the Seven Vices, and the Seven -Virtues, are arranged in a device so as to give their relations to one -another; and there are similar devices on f. 2 _verso_, and the two -following pages. Such devices were sometimes painted on the walls of -churches. - - GRATIA. - Pax. || Contricio. - Indulgencia. || Compassio. - Concordia. || Miserecordia. - \-----------------\ || /---------------------/ - \ || / - CARI||TAS. - || - Virginitas. || Contemplatio. - || - Puritas. | Munditia. || Paciencia. | Contricio. - Continentia. | Simplicitas. || Gaudium. | Confessio. - Castitas. | Devotio. || Disciplina. | Penitentia. - || - FIDES. || SPES. - \----------------\ || /------------------/ - \||/ - Donat' || Spiritus. - || - Vita. || Moralitas. - || - Lex. | Correctio. || Jejunium. | Moderatio. - Judicium. | Severitas. || Sobrietas. | Benignitas. - Juris | Rectitudo. || Contemptus | Tolerantia. - observantia.| || mundi. | - || - JUSTITIA. || TEMPERANTIA. - \-----------------\ || /----------------/ - \||/ - Via || Vitae. - || - Timor Dei. || Quies. - Vigilancia. | Racio. || Stabilitas. | Perseverancia. - Consilium. | Tractabilitas. || Silencium. | Non deject' in - | || | prosperis. - Providencia. | Discretio. || Longanimitas. | Non excess' in - || prosperis. - || - PRUDENCIA. || FORTITUDO. - \------------------\ || /-----------------/ - \||/ - || - [Picture of [Picture of || [Picture of [Picture of - Prudencia.] Justicia.] || Fortitudo.] Temperancia.] - - -------------------------------------------- - Radix Virtutum Humilitas. - -------------------------------------------- - ARBOR VIRTVTVM. - - PRECIPITATIO. - || - Amor sui. || Odium dei. - Inconsideratio. || Instabilitas. - Incontinentia. || Affect' Seculi. - || - ------- Lux||uria. ------------ - / \ || / \ - / \ || / \ - GULA. \ || / ACCIDIA. - \ || / - Eletuso sensis. | Immundicia. \ || /Mentis vagacio. | Pusillanimitas. - Saurilitus. | Multiloquium.\||/ Occositas. | Error in fide. - Inepta Letitia. | Crapula. || Tristicia. | Bonor' omissio. - || - Ebrietas. || Desperacio. - --------- || ----------- - / \ || / \ - / \ || / \ - IRA. \ || / INANIS GLORIA. - \ || / - Rixa. | Metus Timor. \ || / Inobedientia. | Presumpcio. - Clamor. | Indignacio. \||/ Singularitas. | Jactantia. - Blasfemie. | Furor. || Discordia. | Obstructio. - || - Odium. || Ypocrisis. - || - -------- || ---------- - / \ || / \ - / \ || / \ - AVARICIA. \ || / INVIDIA. - \ || / - \ Serpent/ - Fraus. | Rapina. \ || /Doli machinatio.|Detractio. - Furta. | Prodicio. \ || / Scelus. |Dolor in prosperis. - Penuria. | Usura. \||/ Susurium. |Plaus in adversis. - || - Simonia. || Homicidium. - || - Figure of the angel. || Figure of B.V.M. - || - [Picture of Dives Avarus.] || [Picture of Pauper Superbus.] - - ------------------------------------ - Radix Viciorum Superbia. - -------------------------------- - ARBOR VICIORVM. - -The pictorial representation of type and antitype seems to have had an -interest for them. So early as the seventh century, Benedict Biscop -brought pictures from Gaul and Italy to adorn his monasteries on the Tyne, -and among them were one pair of Isaac bearing the wood for the sacrifice, -and our Lord carrying His cross; another pair the brazen serpent and our -Lord upon the cross. In the King's MS. 5 are a series of pictures arranged -in three columns; in the middle a subject from the history of our Lord, -and on each side two Old Testament types. The "Biblia Pauperum" of the -fifteenth and sixteenth centuries consisted of a similar arrangement of -gospel histories, with Old Testament types. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARISH PRIESTS. - - -A flood of light is thrown upon the subject of a priest's duties in his -parish by the handbooks which seem to have been as common in the -thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as they are in the nineteenth; -instructing, advising, exhorting the clergy as to their duties, and the -best way of fulfilling them. The Early English Text Society has printed -one of these entitled, "Instructions for Parish Priests," written by John -Myrk, a canon of Lilleshall, in Shropshire, not the same man who wrote the -"Liber Festivalis." The oldest MS. of it belongs to the first half of the -fifteenth century. It will answer our purpose to give a rather complete -analysis of the book, spelling some words in modern fashion, in order to -make it more intelligible, without much altering the substance. - -It begins:-- - - Whenne the blynde ledeth the blynde, - Into the dyche they fallen both. - -[Illustration: BAPTISM BY AFFUSION. FROM THE XV. CENT. MS. EGERTON, 2019 -f. 135.] - -[Illustration: BAPTISM BY IMMERSION. FROM THE XIV. CENT. MS., ROYAL 6 E. -VI., f. 171.] - -So, our author says, ignorant priests lead their people into sin; -therefore, if you are not a great clerk, you will do well to read this -book, where you will find-- - - How thou schalt thy parische teche - And what thou must thyself be. - For lytel is worth thy prechynge, - If thou be of evil lyvynge. - -Which is certainly a very wholesome exordium. - -Then he begins his instructions-- - - Preste; thy self thou moste be chaste, - And say thy service withouten haste, - That mouthe and heart accord i fere,[219] - If thou wilt that God thee hear. - -And so he goes on: He must be true in heart and hand, eschew oaths, be -mild to all, put away drunkenness, gluttony, pride, sloth, and envy. He -must not frequent taverns, or make merchandise, or indulge in wrestling, -shooting, hawking, hunting, dancing; wear cutted (slashed) clothes, or -piked shoes; not frequent markets or fairs. He must wear proper clothes, -must not wear basilard or baldrick, must keep his beard and crown shaven; -be free of meat and drink to rich and poor; forsake women, avoid foolish -jesting, despise the world, and cultivate virtue. We recognize that the -author is giving a summary of all the canons on the subject of the life of -the clergy. - -[Illustration: Confession. (From Chaucer's "Romaunt of the Rose," Harl. -4425, f. 143.)] - -He goes on to the priest's duties. He is not to let men go on in sin, but -urge them to speedy confession lest they forget before Lent. He is to bid -women with child to come to confession and holy communion, - - For dread of peril that may befall - In their travailing that come shall. - -If a child is in danger of death, the midwife or the father or mother is -to baptize it; and he is to teach people what is the proper form, "I -folowe (baptize) thee, or, I christen thee, in the name of, etc." All -children born within eight days of Easter or of Whitsunday, are to be -brought to baptism at those seasons, unless they are in danger of death. -He is to instruct godparents to teach their god-children the Our Father -and Creed; and to bring them to be bishoped within their fifth year; but -the sponsors at the baptism are not to hold the child at the -confirming.[220] Relatives by spiritual ties as well as by blood, are not -to marry, and he defines these spiritual relationships. Irregular -marriages are cursed. Banns are to be asked on three holy days, and then -the parties are to be openly wedded at the church door. He is to bid all -who are of years of discretion to come to church to confession, and to -receive communion on Easter Day all together:[221] - - Teach them then with good intent - To beleve in that sacrament - What they receive in form of bread - It is God's body that suffered dead[222] - Upon the holy rood tree, - To buy our sins and make us free. - - Every Sunday a "holy loaf"[223] provided by the charity of some one of - the laity was cut in pieces, and a piece given to all who came up to - receive it: the authority for this practice was no doubt the - primitive love-feast. But when it was not the custom for the laity to - communicate, this was given as a sort of representation of and - substitute for the consecrated bread, and it was attended by a good - deal of superstition. A question in the "Lay Folks' Mass-book" seems - to indicate that it was required that people should receive it and eat - it, fasting, every Sunday-- - - Hast thou eaten any Sonday - Withouten holy bred? Say yea or nay; - - and a return by the vicar of Leominster of the sources of his income, - seems to indicate that a payment for this holy bread was customary in - some places (see p. 404). - -He is to teach that, after receiving the Consecrated Bread at Easter, what -is given them afterwards in the chalice is only wine and water to assist -in the swallowing it completely: - - But teach them all to 'lieve sudde[224] - That it which is on the altar made - It is very God's blood - That He shed on the rood. - -Teach the people when they go to church to leave behind idle speech and -jests, and light behaviour, and say their paternoster and creed. Not to -stand or lean against pillar or wall, but set themselves on their knees on -the floor, and pray to God with meek heart to give them grace and mercy. -When the gospel is read, they are to stand and bless Him as well as they -can, and when _gloria tibi_ is done, they are to kneel down again; and -when the sacring-bell rings, they are to hold both hands up and say -softly, without noise-- - - Jesu, Lord, welcome thou be, - In forme of bred as I Thee see; - Jesu for thy holy name - Shield me to-day from sin and shame. - Shrift and housel, Lord, thou grant me bo[225] - Ere that I shall hennes[226] go, - And true contrycion of my sin - That I Lord never die therein. - And as thou wert of a may[227] y'bore, - Suffer me never to be forelore; - But when that I shall hennes wend - Graunt me thi blysse withouten ende. Amen. - - Teche them thus or some othere thynge, - To say at the holy sakerynge. - -[In the "Lay Folks' Mass-book" the following short verse is given to be -said in this place-- - - Welcome, Lord, in form of bread, - For me thou suffered hard deed? - As thou didst bear the crown of thorn - Suffer me not to be forlorn.] - -He is to teach them when they walk in the way, and see the priest bearing -"God's body" to the sick, to kneel down, whether the way be fair or -foul.[228] And then comes a gross bit of superstition which he fathers on -St. Augustine: - - So mickle good doth that syht, - As Saint Austen teacheth wryht, - -that on that day the devout beholder shall have meat and drink, God will -forgive idle oaths and words, and he need not fear sudden death nor loss -of sight. Within the church and "seyntuary"[229] people are not to sing -or cry; not to cast the axtre or stone, or play bull and bears in the -churchyard. Courts and such-like contentions are not to be held in church. -Teach them duly to pay their tithe--but, he breaks off jestingly, it is -not necessary to teach a priest how to ask for his tithe. Witchcraft and -usury are forbidden, and so is selling at too high a price. - -Next he gives metrical paraphrases of the Lord's Prayer, Ave and Creed, -with a brief explanation of the Creed, and a curious illustration of the -doctrine of the Trinity:-- - - Water and ice and eke snowe, - Here be thre things as ye may see, - And yet the three all water be. - -Then he gives a long instruction on the right administration of baptism, -and on confirmation:-- - - Which in lewde men's menyng, - Is y-called the bishoping. - - The bishop confirmeth and maketh sad[230] - That that the priest before hath made,[231] - Wherefore the name that is then y-spoke - Must stand firm as it were loke,[232] - -which is an interesting allusion to the right of altering the Christian -name at Confirmation. - -Then comes a general sentence of excommunication[233] to be said two or -three times a year when the parish is met together, with cross and -candle and bell tolling. It declares that all persons are accursed who -break the peace of the church, or rob it, or withhold tithes; all -slanderers, fire raisers, thieves, heretics, usurers, etc., etc. Then the -candle is to be thrown down, and the priest is to spit on the ground, and -the bells to ring. This general sentence of excommunication is clearly the -origin of the form of Commination still said on Ash Wednesday. - -[Illustration: CONFIRMATION. FROM A PRINTED PONTIFICAL, A.D. 1520 (471, f. -2).] - -Then comes an instruction on the mode of hearing confessions, and some -practical advice on the kind of penances to give, _e.g._ if the penitent -does not know the Pater, Ave, and Creed, he is to have such a penance set -as will make him learn them; and he is to be examined as to his belief. - -Next, as part of the instruction in the art of confession, comes a -practical exposition of the ten commandments one by one; and in the same -way an exposition of the seven deadly sins and of the venial sins; and of -the sins of the senses; in all which we recognize a digest of Archbishop -Peckham's famous canon of instruction for preaching; then come counsels as -to the remedies for the seven deadly sins. Then an instruction on the -administration of Extreme Unction, with a kind of Office for the -Visitation of the Sick. - - When thou shalt to sick gone - A clean surplice cast thee on, - Take thy stole with thee right, - And pull thy hood over thy sight. - Bear thy Host anont[234] thy breast - In a box that is honest. - Make thy clerk before thee gynge[235] - To bear light and bell ring.[236] - -This is the prayer of the sick before the unction-- - - My God, my God, my mercy and my refuge, Thee I desire, to Thee I flee, - to Thee I hasten to come. Despise me not, placed in this tremendous - crisis, be merciful to me in these my great necessities. I cannot - redeem myself by my own works; but do Thou my God redeem me, and have - mercy on me. I trust not in my merits, but I confide rather in Thy - mercies, and I trust more in Thy mercies than I distrust my evil - deeds. My faults, my great faults. Now I come to Thee because Thou - failest none, I desire to depart and be with Thee. Into Thy hands, O - Lord, I commend my spirit, Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. - Amen. And grant to me, my God, that I may sleep and rest in peace, who - in perfect Trinity livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen. - -[Illustration: PARISH PRIEST TAKING THE LAST SACRAMENT TO THE SICK. XIV. -CENT. MS., 6 E. VI., f. 427 verso.] - -[Illustration: PARISH PRIEST ADMINISTERING LAST SACRAMENT. XIV. CENT. MS., -6 E. VII., f. 70.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -POPULAR RELIGION. - - -In Saxon times, the Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Ten Commandments were taught -to the people in their own tongue, sometimes in metrical paraphrases, that -they might the more easily be remembered, and every parent was required to -teach them to his children. - -A canon of the Synod of Clovesho, in 747, required the priest to explain -everything in the Divine service to the people, and the Gospel for the day -was read to them in the vernacular. The poem of Caedmon, which paraphrased -large portions of the Old Testament history, was not the only use of the -native poetry for the purpose of popularizing the truths of religion; we -call to mind how Aldhelm used to sit on the parapet of the bridge over -which the country-people must needs pass into Malmesbury, and sing to them -religious poems, to the accompaniment of his harp. King Alfred translated -the psalms, and there were various other versions of the psalms and other -portions of Scripture. - - * * * * * - -Education was much more common among the laity of the Middle Ages than is -sometimes supposed. The French books of piety and of romance in the -thirteenth century presuppose people capable of reading them. Grostete's -"Castle of Love" was a religious allegory, in which, under the ideas of -chivalry, the fundamental articles of Christian belief are represented. By -the middle of the fourteenth century, English had become a literary -language, and works of all kinds were written in it. Wiclif did not -translate the Bible from Latin into English for the clergy; they would -rightly prefer to continue to read it in the Latin of the Vulgate; he -wrote it for the laity, and we know that it was largely circulated among -them. The poems of Lydgate and Gower, "Piers Plowman," and the Canterbury -Tales, the numerous romances, and the religious tracts of Wiclif and -Robert of Hampole, had numerous readers; and for those readers books of -devotion were largely provided. - -Robert de Brunne's "Handlyng of Synne," in 1303, was a translation of the -French "Manuel des Pechiez" of the previous century. The "Meditacyuns of -the Soper of oure Lorde Ihesu," in 1303, was a translation of the -"Meditationes Vitae Christi" of Cardinal Bonaventure. - -"The Pricke of Conscience," by Richard Rolle, the Hermit of Hampole, and -"The Ayenbite of Inwit" (Remorse of Conscience), completed in 1340,[237] -are translations of "Le Somme des Vices et des Vertus," composed in 1279. -The "Parson's Tale" in Chaucer's "Canterbury Pilgrims," is in part a -translation from the same book. The "Lay Folks' Mass-book," or manner of -hearing mass, with rubrics and devotions for the people, and offices in -English according to the Use of York, is an evidence that pains was taken -to enable the people to enter intelligently into the Latin service. It was -written in French by Dan Jeremy, Canon of Rouen, afterwards Archdeacon of -Cleveland, in about the year 1170, and was translated into English towards -the close of the thirteenth century. - - * * * * * - -The "Lay Folks' Mass-book" is well worth more space than we can afford it -here, as a curious illustration of the popular religion. It explains the -meaning of the service, and of the ritual, tells the worshipper when to -stand and kneel, and puts private devotions into his mouth in rhyme, for -their better remembrance. There are numerous MSS. of these books still -existing, and when the art of printing was discovered, they were among the -books early printed, so that we have reason to believe that they were in -general demand and use among the laity. - -We learn that it was the custom for the parish priest to vest at the -altar--the old parish churches seldom had vestries: - - When the altar is all dight, - And the priest is washed right, - Then he takes in both his hands - A chesepull[238] cloth on the altar hangs, - And comes aback a little down, - And does it upon him all aboune. - All men kneeling, but he stands, - And holds to God up both his handes. - -When the priest and clerks confess to one another, the worshipper is -directed also to make his confession in a form given. - -After the confession the people stand, and the priest begins the service; -the worshipper is told to pray for him, and the hearers, and their -friends, and for "peace and rest that lastes ay to Christian souls passed -away," and to all men. Next is given a rhyming English version of the -_Gloria in Excelsis_, to be said while the priest is saying it in Latin. -The people kneel and say _Pater nosters_ through the Collect and Epistle; -when the priest crosses to the south corner of the altar to read the -Gospel, then the people are to stand and make a cross, and take good heed, -and say this prayer-- - - In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, - One steadfast God of might most, - Be God's word welcome to me, - Joy and love, Lord, be to Thee. - -Again at the end of the Gospel make another cross and kiss it. While the -Mass (Nicene) Creed is being said, say the Apostles' Creed, as given in a -rhymed version-- - - I trow[239] in God, father of might - That all has wrought, - Heaven and earth, day and night, - And all of nought, etc. - -At the end is a very curious perversion of the clause of the Communion of -Saints: _Communio Sanctorum_ is translated as if it were _Concomitantia -Sanctorum_-- - - And so I trow that housel is - Both flesh and blood. - -After that comes the offertory; offer or not, as you please;[240] but in -either case say the following prayer-- - - Jesu, that wast in Bethlem bore, - Three kings once kneeled Thee before, - And offered gold, myrrh, and incense; - Thou disdained not their presents, - But didst guide them all the three - Home again to their country. - So our offerings that we offer, - And our prayers that we proffer, - Take them, Lord, to Thy praise, - And be our help through all our days. - -Then when the priest turns to the people and asks their prayers, kneel and -pray for him. When the priest comes to the middle of the altar and says -_sursum corda_, then lift up your heart and body, and praise God with the -angels-- - - Sweet Jesu grant me now this - That I may come to Thy bliss, - There with angels for to sing, - The sweet song of Thy loving, - Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, - God Grant that it be thus. - -Kneel when the canon of the mass begins, and offer thanksgivings for -talents of nature, right mind, grace in perils, etc.; pray for pardon, -grace, strength for the future; make intercessions for church, king, -nobility, kinsmen, friends, servants, for the afflicted, sick, captive, -poor, banished, dispossessed; pray for God's ordering of the world, for -good weather, that He will - - The fruits of the earth make plenteous; - All Thou seest best ordain for us, - Such grace to us Thou send, - That in our last end, - When this world and we shall sever, - Bring us to joy that lasts for ever. Amen. - -[Illustration: ADMINISTERING HOLY COMMUNION WITH HOUSEL CLOTH. EARLY XIV. -CENT. MS., ROYAL, 2 B VII., f. 260 v.] - -At the sacring bell do reverence to Jesus Christ's presence, holding up -both hands, and looking upon the elevation;[241] and if you have nothing -better prepared to say, say this which follows-- - - Loved be Thou, king, - And blessed be Thou, king, - Of all thy giftes good; - And thanked be Thou, king, - Jesu, all my joying, - That for me spilt Thy blood. - And died upon the rood. - Thou give me grace to sing, - The song of thy loving. - - Pater noster. Ave maria. Credo. - -After the sacring, pray for the dead, that they may have part in this -mass:-- - - When the priest the elevation has made - He will spread his arms on-brade,[242] - Then is the time to pray for the dead, - Father's soul, mother's soul, brother dear, - Sister's souls, sibmen, and other sere,[243] - That us good would, or us good did, - Or any kindness unto us kyd. - And to all in purgatory pine - This mass be mede and medicine; - To all Christian souls holy - Grant Thy grace and Thy mercy; - Forgive them all their trespass, - Loose their bonds and let them pass - From all pine and care, - Into the joy lasting evermore. Amen. - -Listen for the priest to begin _Pater noster_, and be ready to answer at -_temptationem_, _Sed libera nos a malo. Amen._ And then say the Lord's -Prayer to yourself as here given-- - - Fader our, that is in heaven, - Blessed be Thy name to neven.[244] - Come to us Thy kingdom. - In heaven and earth Thy will be done. - Our ilk-day bread grant us to-day, - And our misdeeds forgive us aye, - As we do them that trespass us - Right so have mercy upon us, - And lead us in no founding, - But shield us from all wicked thing. Amen. - -At the _Pax_ pray for peace and charity. Lastly, he is to pray for the -grace of having heard the mass, making it a kind of spiritual communion-- - - Jesu my King, I pray to Thee, - Bow down thine ears of pity, - And hear my prayer in this place. - - * * * * * - - We pray this mass us stand in stead - Of shrift and als[245] of housel bread. - And Jesu, for Thy woundes five, - Teach us the way of right-wise live. Amen. - -After all is over, he is to utter a final thanksgiving:-- - - God be thanked of all his works, - God be thanked for priests and clerks, - God be thanked for ilk a man. - And I thank God all I can, etc. - -Then there follows an example of the superstition with which sound -doctrine was vitiated. Every step, this book teaches, that a man makes to -attendance at mass is noted by the guardian angel, that day a man does not -age nor become blind, he has God's pardon if he goes to confession, and -if he die it avails him as the viaticum. - - * * * * * - -The Primers were books for the private devotion of the laity. They began -at an early period, and from the fourteenth century onward they were often -wholly or in part translated into English. The latest of them put forth by -the king's authority, in 1545, contained "the Kalendre, the king's -highnesse Injunction, the Salutation of the Angel, the Crede or Articles -of the Faith, the Ten Commandments, certain graces, the matyns, the -evensong, the complen, the seven [penitential] psalmes, the commendations, -the psalmes of the passion, the passion of our Lorde, certeine godly -prayers for sundry purposes." - - * * * * * - -The "Myrroure of our Ladye," written for the nuns of Sion, is a -translation of their services into English, with an explanation of their -meaning. It became a favourite book of devotion to the laity, and was -printed at an early period. The writer explains that he has thought it -necessary to translate only a few of the psalms, because they may be found -in Hampole's Version, or in the English Bibles, a passing testimony to the -accessibility of these books. The tone of the book may be indicated by one -extract. "There is neither reading nor singing that may please God of -itself, but after the disposition of the reader or singer, thereafter it -pleaseth or displeaseth." - -"Dives and Pauper" was another of the popular English books, written -probably about the middle of the fifteenth century, and early printed. It -is in the form of a dialogue between a rich man and a poor man, in which -the poor man occupies the place of teacher. It begins with an essay on -Holy Poverty, and then goes on to an excursive exposition of the Ten -Commandments; for example, under the first commandment, the author shows -how imagery is lawful, and how images were ordained for three causes. 1. -To stir men's minds to think on Christ and the saints. 2. To stir their -affections; and 3. To be a book for the unlearned. He explains that -"worship to God and the Lamb, done before images, should properly not be -done to such images." "Christ is the cross that men creep to on Good -Friday." "For this reason," he says, "be crosses by the way that when folk -passing see the crosses they should think on Him that died on the cross, -and worship Him above all thing." And, similarly, he gives the rationale -of a number of practices. - - * * * * * - -The Anglo-Saxon poems attributed to Caedmon are said by the critics to be, -in their present form, probably not of earlier date than the eleventh -century. In any case, they are very remarkable productions of a school of -native poetry; and we think it worth while to give some examples of them. -The first is taken from the account of the Creation-- - - Here the eternal Lord, Head of Creation - In the beginning shaped the universe, - The sky upreared, and this fair spacious earth - By His strong might was stablished evermore. - As yet no verdure decked the new-born world; - The ocean far and wide in deepest night - Concealed the universe. Then o'er the deep - Was swiftly borne on bright and radiant wing, - The spirit of the Lord. The mighty King - Bade Light come forth far o'er the spacious deep, - And instantly His high behest was done, - And holy Light shone brightly o'er the waste, - Fulfilling His command. In triumph then - He severed light from darkness, and to both - The Lord of Life gave names; and holy light - Firstborn of all created things, beauteous - And bright, above all creatures fair, - He called the Day ... - Then time past o'er the quivering face of earth, - And Even, first at God's command dispelled - The radiant Day, till onward rolled the dark - And murky cloud which God Himself called Night, - Chasing away the Even's twilight gleam. - - * * * * * - -Next we take the poet's conception of Satan and his fall-- - - Of old - The King eternal by His sovereign might - Ordained ten Angel tribes, of equal rank, - With beauty, power and wisdom richly dowered; - And in the host Angelic, whom, in love, - He moulded in His own similitude, - He evermore reposed a holy trust - To work His will in loving loyalty, - And added by His grace, celestial wit - And bliss unspeakable. - - One of the host - Angelic He endowed with peerless might - And arch intelligence. To him alone - The Lord of Hosts gave undisputed sway - O'er all the Angel tribes, exalted high, - Above all Principalities and Powers, - That next to God omnipotent he stood - O'er all created things, lone and supreme. - So heavenly fair and beauteous was his form, - Fashioned by God Himself, that by compare, - Less glorious spirits grew dim; e'en as the stars - In God's fixed belt, pale in the glowing light - Of nine resplendent spheres. - - Long had he reigned, - August Vicegerent of the Heavenly King, - But for presumptuous pride which filled the heart - With dire ingratitude and hostile thoughts - Against the eternal throne. - Nor was it hid from God's omniscient eye - That this archangel, though beloved still, - Began to harbour dark presumptuous thoughts, - And in rebellion rise against his God - With words of pride and hate. - - For thus he spake - Within his traitorous heart: - - "No longer I, - With radiant form endowed and heavenly mien, - Will brook subjection to a tyrant God, - Or be His willing slave. Such power is mine, - Such goodly fellowship, I well believe - 'Tis greater e'en than God's own following." - With many a word of bold defiance spake - The Angel of Presumption; for he hoped - In heaven to rear a more exalted throne - And stronger, than the seats he now possessed. - Then moved by traitorous guile he built in thought - Vast palaces within the northern realm, - And richer western plains of Paradise, - And evermore he dwelled in doubtful mood - Whether 'twere better in acknowledged war - To risk his high estate, or prostrate fall - Mock-loyal as his God's inferior. - - * * * * * - - When the All-Powerful in secret knew - The great presumption of His Angel-chief, - - * * * * * - - Heavenly Justice hurled him from his throne, - And cast him headlong down the burning gulf - Which leads to deepest hell. - - For three long days - And three successive nights the apostate falls - Forgotten with his lone rebellious tribe. - - * * * * * - - Then Satan sorrowing spake-- - "This straitened place, - O how unlike those heavenly seats where once - In heaven's high kingdom we as princes reigned. - - * * * * * - - 'Tis this most grieves - My anxious heart, that earthborn man should hold - My glorious seat and dwell in endless joy, - While we in Hell's avenging horrors pine. - - * * * * * - - Here then lies - Our only hope of adequate revenge-- - To ruin, if we may, this new-born man, - And on his race eternal woe entail." - - * * * * * - -Next a brief fragment from the account of Satan's invasion of Paradise-- - - Without delay the Apostate Angel donned - His glistening arms, and lightly on his head - His helmet bound, secured with many a clasp, - And started toward his fatal enterprise. - High toward the fiery concave first he shot, - A spiry column, bright with lurid flame, - Showed where he took his flight. The gates of Hell - Were quickly left behind as lion-like - In strength, and desperate in fiendish mood - He dashed the fire aside. - - * * * * * - - Onward he took his way, and soon descried - Far off the trembling light of this fair world. - - * * * * * - - Ere long amid the shade - Of Eden's fair wide-spreading foliage - He saw the Parents of Mankind; the man - Whose comely form bespoke a wise design, - And by his side, radiant with guileless youth, - His God-created spouse. Above them spread - Two trees rich laden with immortal fruit.[246] - -The parallelism with the "Paradise Lost" is, in many places, so striking -that we should conclude that Milton knew the work of his predecessor by so -many centuries, if we were not assured that the work was unknown in -Milton's day. - -The publications of the Early English Text Society have made known a -considerable number of religious treatises, tracts, poems, and short -pieces in the English language, which throw light upon the popular -religion of the three centuries from the thirteenth to the fifteenth. - -Legendary histories of saints and apocryphal stories indicate the general -acceptance of the marvellous; addresses to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or by -her to the soul, bear witness to the existence of a general veneration for -the virgin mother, but the tone of them is more calm and chastened than -the addresses in some of the popular Italian devotions; there are others -which give sound teaching; and others which reveal the existence of a -strain of profound and pathetic religious sentiment in the heart of the -people. - -Here from a MS. of the fifteenth century[247] is a poem of six stanzas, -every stanza ending with the line, "Why art thou froward since I am -merciable?" It begins-- - - Upon a cross nailed I was for thee, - I suffered death to pay thy raunison;[248] - Forsake thy synne for the love of Me, - Be repentant, make plain confession. - To contrite hearts I give remission; - Be not despaired, for I am not vengeable; - 'Gainst ghostly enemies, think on my Passion; - Why art thou froward since I am merciable? - -Another fifteenth-century poem, whose theme is taken from Solomon's Song, -the love of Christ for man's soul, concludes every eight-line stanza with -the text, _Quia amore langueo_.[249] Here are two stanzas-- - - Upon this mount I found a tree, - Under this tree a man sitting; - From head to foot wounded was he. - His heart's blood I saw bleeding; - A seemly man to be a king, - A gracious face to look unto; - I asked him how he had paining,[250] - He said _Quia amore langueo_. - - I am true-love that false was never, - My sister, man's soul, I loved her thus, - Because I would not from her dissever - I left my kingdom glorious; - I provide for her a palace precious; - She fleeth, I follow, I sought her so. - I suffered the pain piteous, - _Quia amore langueo_. - - I crowned her with bliss, and she me with scorn, - I led her to chamber, and she me to die; - I brought her to worship, and she me to scorn, - I did her reverence, and she me villainy, etc. - -Another favourite theme was a pathetic "Complaint of Christ," in which He -sets before man all that He has done for him, in creation, in providence, -in redemption, and appeals against his unkindness. The refrain of every -stanza is, "Why art thou to thy friend unkind?" Here is a stanza of it-- - - Man, I love thee! Whom lovest thou? - I am thy friend, why wilt thou feign? - I forgave, and thou Me slew; - Who hath de-parted our love in twain? - Turne to Me! Bethink thee how - Thou hast gone amiss! Come home again! - And thou shalt be as welcome now - As he that synne never did stain. - Man! bethink thee what thou art; - From whence thou come, and whither thou move, - For though thou to-day be in health and quarte,[251] - To-morrow I may put thee adown. - I forgave, and thou sayest nay, - Why art thou to thy friend unkind? - I have bought thy love full dear, - Unkind! why forsakest thou mine? - I gave thee mine heart and blood in fere, - Unkind! why wilt thou not give Me thine? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY. - - -The enforcement of celibacy upon the clergy was an important feature in -the plan of the Hildebrandine reformers of the eleventh century. The idea -which inspired the enthusiasm of the foremost Churchmen of the time was, -no doubt, a grand one. It was to bring the national churches into -practical co-operation by a world-wide ecclesiastical organization, and to -place the spiritual authority of the whole Church in the hand of one man, -in order to control the world-power of kings and princes, and check the -manifold abuses which at that time especially threatened to corrupt and -secularize the Church. The clergy were intended in the Hildebrandine -scheme to be the Pope's local agents in the administration of this -ecclesiastical monarchy; and in order to detach them from secular and -local ties it was proposed to make the secular clergy a kind of Religious -Order--an anticipation, in some respects, of the organization of the -subsequent Orders of Friars. - -We must do the authors of the scheme the justice to remember that they -honestly believed that the celibate state--not the mere accident of being -unmarried, but the chosen and vowed state--was a higher condition of life; -and it was easy to apply St. Paul's advice to those who could accept it, -to the special condition of the clergy:--"The unmarried (priest) careth -for the things of the Lord, that (he) may be holy both in body and spirit, -but the married (priest) careth for the things of the world." It was easy -to draw a contrast between the parish priest with a wife and family, bound -by a thousand ties to the ordinary interests and anxieties of the world, -and the celibate priest, who wants nothing beyond the priest's chamber and -his humble fare, and who gives his whole mind and soul to his daily -devotions and his spiritual ministrations among his flock; his rusty -cassock a uniform as honourable as the soldier's war-stained coat, his -ascetic life ensuring the reverence which even the worldly-minded pay to -those who despise worldly things. - -To the fulfilment of this idea the great body of the secular clergy in -Germany, Italy, and France, as well as England, offered for centuries a -stubborn resistance. They stood on the irrefragable ground that the -priests and Levites of the Old Dispensation were married men; that our -Lord and His apostles gave no such commandment to the Church; that, as a -matter of history, some of the apostles were married men; and that for ten -centuries bishops and priests of the Church all over the world had -married. It was obvious to reply to the supposed advantages of a -priesthood disentangled from worldly anxieties, that, on the contrary, it -was desirable for the pastors in immediate habitual intercourse with the -people to be men who had property and families, because then they could -deal with men on the ground of common interests and sympathies; and that -to impose compulsory celibacy on the secular clergy was a measure full of -the gravest dangers. - -The majority of the clergy probably were influenced by the broad common -sense which pronounced the ultramontane idea to be unscriptural, -transcendental, novel, and, therefore, questionable; and, lastly, a burden -which no one had the right to impose upon the unwilling. Some of them -tauntingly desired the pope to see if he could get the spirits from above -to leave their stations and come and rule the Churches under his Holiness, -since men were not good enough for him. - -The attempt to introduce celibacy among the secular clergy had been begun -in the latter part of the Saxon period. We have seen that kings made laws -and bishops made canons against the married clergy. We cannot have better -evidence than that of AElfric's famous pastoral address, that the Saxon -clergy generally had ignored these laws and canons, and that it had not -been found practicable to enforce them. AElfric declares that-- - - The Four General Councils forbade all marriages to ministers of the - altar, and especially to mass-priests [which is a misstatement], and - that the canons command that no bishop nor priest shall have in his - house any woman except his mother or other person who is above - suspicion. "This, to you priests," he says, "will seem grievous, - because ye have your misdeeds in custom" [you are accustomed to - married priests], "so that it seems to yourselves that ye have no sin - in living in female intercourse as laymen do, and say that Peter the - Apostle had a wife and children. So he and others had before their - conversion, but then forsook their wives and all earthly things" - [which is, to say the least, a doubtful assumption]. "Beloved," he - goes on, "we cannot now forcibly compel you to chastity, but we - admonish you nevertheless that ye observe chastity as Christ's - ministers ought in good reputation to the pleasure of God." - -Gregory VII., in the Fourth Lateran Council, in 1074, took a step in -advance of previous legislation on the subject. He peremptorily forbade -marriage to the clergy, pronounced sentence of excommunication against -those who refused to put away their wives, and forbade the laity to be -present at mass when they officiated. - -In adopting this legislation in England, Lanfranc considerably modified -it. In the Synod of Winchester, in 1076, it was decreed that no canon -should be married; the married parochial clergy were not required to put -away their wives, but those who were not married were forbidden to take -any; and bishops were required not to ordain deacons or priests unless -they declare that they have not wives. But this legislation seems to have -been largely ignored, and the disobedience winked at. - -In 1102, a national synod, held at Westminster, under Anselm of -Canterbury and Gerard of York, sought to draw the line more strictly. It -enacted that no canon, and no one above the order of sub-deacon, might -marry; required those who were married to put away their wives; forbade a -married priest to say mass, and the people to hear him. It added another -edict, to which we shall have to refer hereafter--that sons of priests -were not to succeed to their fathers' benefices. - -It was soon found that it was not possible to enforce these decrees, and -the Pope was appealed to on the question. He was so convinced of the -difficulty, that he dispensed with the canons, and in a letter (1107) to -Anselm gave reasons for so doing, which contain valuable evidence of the -condition of things. He founded the dispensation on the particular -circumstances of the English Church, where, he observes, the greater and -more valuable part of the clergy were the sons of priests, and therefore -he gives Anselm a commission to promote such persons in the Church. He -likewise empowers him to dispense with the canons in other cases where the -untractableness of the English and the interest of religion should make it -necessary. Anselm's canons were repeated by William of Canterbury and -Thurstan of York in 1126 and 1127, but were met with a stubborn -resistance.[252] - -After a short time bishops and great dignitaries ceased to be married men, -and sought to enforce the canons on celibacy which they helped to make. -Cathedral dignitaries also generally paid outward respect to the canons, -but some of them had unacknowledged wives.[253] - -In 1128, at a national synod held in London, the synod resigned the -dealing with the recalcitrant clergy into the king's hands. The king -(Henry I.) disappointed the archbishops by abstaining from any attempt to -enforce celibacy on the clergy, but he ingeniously took advantage of the -opportunity to raise a revenue out of them by permitting the clergy to -retain their wives on payment of a fee for the licence to do so. The king -was said to have raised a great sum of money by this device, which implies -that a great number of the clergy were married and retained their wives. -King John, on the publication of the Interdict, seized the wives of the -clergy, and only released them on payment of heavy ransom. - -Synod after synod continued to legislate against them.[254] - - In 1222, a synod held at Oxford, under Archbishop Stephen Langton, - enacted that if beneficed men or men in sacred orders should presume - to retain their partners publicly in their dwelling-houses - (_hospitiis_), or should elsewhere have public access to them to the - public scandal, they should be coerced by the withdrawal of their - benefice; and that the clergy might not leave such partners (_i.e._ - wives) anything in their wills. It also attacked the poor wives, - enacting that if they did not leave their partners they should be - excluded from the church and the sacraments; if that did not suffice, - they should be stricken with the sword of excommunication; and, - lastly, the secular arm should be invoked against them.[255] - - Archbishop Richard of Wethershead, in 1229 or 1230 repeated the decree - that men of the order of sub-deacon and upwards who had married should - put away their wives, though they were unwilling and refused to - consent,[256] and if they persisted in having publicly a female - partner, should, after a first, second, and third warning, be deprived - of every benefice and office. - - St. Edmund the Canonized Archbishop, in 1234 or 1235, enacted that if - any clerics who had been suspended for incontinency should presume to - continue to exercise their office they should be deprived of their - benefices, and for their double fault _perpetuo damnentur_. He tries - to make the rectors inform against the clerics in their parishes, - threatening that if a case comes to his knowledge by common report - before the rector has given in his accusation against his brother, the - rector shall be taken to have known of it, and shall be punished as a - partaker in the sin. Lastly, he decrees that prelates (archdeacons, - officials, and rural deans) who presume to support such persons in - their iniquity, especially for the offer of money or of any other - temporal advantage, shall be subject to the same penalty. - - In 1237, Cardinal Otho came from Rome at the request of the king - (Henry III.), unknown to the nobles, and summoned a national council - at St. Paul's. It was understood that he was going to make strong - decrees against the abuses of the clergy, and especially against the - pluralists and the illegitimates, and feeling ran so high among the - clergy that the legate obtained from the king an attendance of some - nobles, and a guard of some armed knights and about two hundred - soldiers, who were placed in ambush for his protection. The decree - against the pluralists was so vehemently opposed that the cardinal - postponed this question till the Pope could be appealed to. - - The canon against the married clergy declared that unless clerks, - especially those in holy orders, who publicly keep concubines in their - houses, or in those of others', dismiss them therefrom within a month, - they shall be suspended from every office and benefice, and if they - persist, shall be deprived. And "we strictly order that archbishops - and bishops shall make diligent inquiries throughout all their - deaneries, and that what we have decreed shall be observed." - - The canon on sons of priests forbade the prelates from presuming - henceforth under any pretext, or by any fraud, to appoint or admit any - to benefices which their fathers held by any kind of title, either to - the whole or to part, and that they who already hold such benefices - shall be deprived. - - In 1265, Cardinal Othobon presided over a national council at London, - which was of great authority, and was regarded subsequently as a rule - of discipline for the English Church, in which the preceding - legislation was again repeated. - - The Council of Reading, under Archbishop Peckham, in 1279, refers to - the canon of Othobon _contra concubinarios_, and orders that - archdeacons shall read it at their visitations and see that it is read - by the rural deans at their chapters (the laity being excluded), and - in case of neglect they shall fast on bread and water on the six week - days (unless infirmity hinder them) until they have read or caused it - to be read at the next chapter. - -Were the laity excluded to screen the infirmities of their pastors, or -because the expression of lay dissent would have encouraged the clergy in -their contumacy? May we conjecture that, in spite of the urgent commands -of the archbishop, the reading of the canon was often omitted, and that -the archdeacons and rural deans excused themselves from the consequent -penance under favour of the saving clause?[257] - -The legislation is itself a witness to the existence of the practices -which it tries to suppress. We need no further proof that in the -thirteenth century many of the clergy were married men, that in some cases -they lived openly with their wives in their dwelling-houses, or, in other -cases, they visited them openly in separate houses provided for them; that -they refused to give them up in spite of repeated synodical decrees; that -clerics who were not themselves married countenanced their married -brethren; that even the dignified officials whose business it was to take -proceedings against them, hung back from doing so. - -After the middle of the fourteenth century this subject disappears from -the acts of the synods; not because the clergy had come universally to -obey the former canons, but because the question had found a solution, -which we proceed to describe. Celibacy was confessedly not a Divine -ordinance, but an ecclesiastical regulation, and so long as the two evils -were avoided (1) of the parochial benefices being overburdened by the -demands of an avowed family; and (2) of the hereditary descent of -benefices by the absence of lawful heirs; the ecclesiastical authorities -might be satisfied with the obedience of a large proportion of the clergy, -and willing to connive at the solution of the question to which the rest -resorted. - -The solution was as follows: The secular cleric was not bound by any -Divine ordinance to celibacy, and did not, like the monks, take any vow of -celibacy on admission to Orders. It was only an ecclesiastical regulation; -and he took leave to evade the canon. If he married, the marriage was not -void in itself, it was only voidable if brought before the Ecclesiastical -Court during the lifetime of the parties; but he had taken his precautions -in view of that contingency; the marriage was irregularly performed in -some particular, or performed in such circumstances that it was incapable -of legal proof. It was something like the morganatic marriages of German -princes, illegal, derogatory, not conferring on wife and children the -status and rights of legal wife and children, but still not in fact, or in -the estimation of society, immoral and disreputable. - -It is notorious that in the fifteenth century there were many -ecclesiastics, from the popes downwards, who had wives, but not living in -their houses, and not presented to the world as wives,[258] and they had -children who were presented to the world as nephews and nieces. Warham, -the last Archbishop of Canterbury before the Reformation, is said (by -Erasmus[259]) to have had a wife who was not secluded from the knowledge -and society of his friends; Cranmer certainly married his second wife, the -niece of Osiander, before he was archbishop, and did not sever his ties -with her after he became archbishop. And it is clear that these relations -were not regarded as immoral and disgraceful; in fact, the common sense of -mankind gives easy absolution for the breach of inequitable laws.[260] - -But there is no doubt that the ambiguity of such relations, at the best, -laid open those who entered into them to just censure, and must have -lowered their own moral tone and that of those thus connected with them. -Neither is it to be denied that enforced celibacy, and the loose notions -encouraged by such connections as those here described, led to a certain -amount of profligacy which admits of no excuse or palliation. - -So the ultramontane policy at length won a victory--of a sort. It -succeeded in preventing the clergy from having wives by conniving at their -concubines; it left no legitimate sons of rectors to claim the heritage of -their fathers' benefices, and gave dispensations to their illegitimate -sons; it established a celibate priesthood, with all the scandals and -suspicions associated with it; it withdrew its clergy from the ordinary -affairs of life, and at the same time from the leadership of the current -practical life of the people. In a biting phrase of the time of Matthew -Paris, "The pope deprived the clergy of sons, and the devil sent them -nephews." - -We have given a--perhaps disproportionately--long chapter to a not very -agreeable subject; but it seemed desirable to take the pains necessary to -put the matter in its proper light, and not to allow the Englishmen of the -great period, from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, to lie under the -suspicion of being so ungodly that the clergy generally lived in open -immorality, and the laity thought little the worse of them for it. - - * * * * * - -An entry in a MS. Book of Ecclesiastical Causes reveals the possible -complications which might arise out of these marriages. Marriages of the -clergy were not null and void, they were only voidable by proceedings -which must be taken in the lifetime of the parties. So that it was always -possible that the children of such a marriage might after their father's -death claim as heirs to his estate, and might have the means of proving -their parents' marriage; in which case they would inherit to the exclusion -of those who had thought themselves the heirs. For example, Sir John de -Sudley, knight, and Elizabeth, wife of Sir Baldwyn de Frevyle, knight, -relatives and heirs of Peter, the uncle of the said Sir John, a -sub-deacon, alleged that marriage had been contracted by the said -sub-deacon, to their exclusion from the heirship, and prayed that the -marriage might be pronounced null, lest the children of the said -sub-deacon should claim his heirship. Sir Peter de Montford seems to be -the name of the sub-deacon aforesaid, and Margaret Furnivale that of his -wife.[261] - - * * * * * - -Chaucer, in "The Miller's Tale," seems incidentally to show what was the -popular view of the children of a cleric. The Miller, a Yeoman, a man of -comparative wealth and consideration in his village, had married a -parson's daughter:-- - - A wife he hadde commen of noble kin, - The parson of the town her father was. - -Her "noble kin" points perhaps to the fact that the parson of the town was -of the family of the lord of the manor. She had received the education of -a lady-- - - She was yfostered in a nonnerie. - -As to her personal character-- - - She was proud and pert as is a pie. - -Next the poet puts upon his stage the daughter of this worthy pair-- - - A daughter hadden they betwixt them two; - -and it is what he says about this young lady which proves most clearly -that neither mother nor daughter suffered in the estimation of society -from the condition of their birth: - - The parson of the town, for she was faire, - In purpose was to maken her his heire - Both of his catel and of his messuage, - And strange he made it of her marriage; - His purpose was for to bestow her hie - Into some worthie blood of ancestrie. - -Geoffrey of Childewick, a knight, married Clarissa, the daughter of a -country priest, but she was the sister of the famous John Mansell, the -minister of Henry III. - -A man was called priest's son, not as a nickname, but as a surname -recognized in formal legal documents, as in the "Pleas of the Crown," c. -1220, Hugo Clark appeals _Paganus filius Sacerdotis_ and others of having -beaten him and broken his teeth, etc.[262] - -The subject is rather fully illustrated in the MS. _Omne Bonum_ (Royal 6 -E. VI.) of the fourteenth century in the British Museum. At f. 295, under -the title _Clericorum et mulierum cohabitatio_, is a quaint picture of a -bishop parting a group of clergy from a group of women. At f. 296 _verso_, -under the title _De clericis conjugatio_, is represented a group of clergy -on the left, a group of women on the right, and a cradle containing a baby -between the two groups; the text is on the penalties against clerical -marriages, but it calls the women _uxores_--wives. Again, in the second -volume of the work (Royal 6 E. VII.), at f. 138, under the title _Filii -Presbyterum_, the picture shows three priests on the left, and women on -the right, with three children kneeling between them; the text is on the -disabilities of sons of priests. - - * * * * * - -Another branch of the same subject is the determination of the rulers of -the Church that the sons of clerics should not be allowed to succeed to -their fathers' benefices. The hereditary succession of the semi-secular -Saxon monasteries afforded a venerable precedent for doing so. The -tendency of the feudal system was to make all offices hereditary, and the -practice was growing up of making church benefices hereditary, and -treating them like lay fiefs; _e.g._ dividing them between two or more -sons, as if they were an ordinary estate; demanding a fine from a new -rector as the lord of the manor did from a new tenant; making the -condition that the presentee should give up this or that ancient -possession of the benefice, or should pay an annual pension to the patron. -The end of this would have been that the benefices of the church would -have become hereditary, impaired, and secularized. - -How far the mischief had already gone is illustrated by two or three -examples which we are able to quote.[263] In York, immediately after the -Conquest, there was something very like a succession to the -archbishopric. The provostship of Hexham descended from father to son, all -of them being priests. The Deans of Whalley and Kettelwell, ecclesiastics -of great jurisdiction and influence, were married, and their offices -descended from father to son for generations. In the episcopal registers -we find from time to time sons succeeding their fathers well on in the -thirteenth century, notwithstanding the canons and synods which prohibited -it. - -The great act of defence against this danger which threatened was the -canon which forbade the son of a parson to succeed to his father's -benefice. The canon was re-enacted from time to time, but not without -occasional instances of strenuous resistance. Thus, in 1235, Alexander, -Bishop of Coventry, complained to Pope Gregory IX., that certain rectors, -sons of priests, presumed to occupy their fathers' benefices by force of -arms; and in some cases where fit incumbents had been placed, the priest's -sons had threatened them with injury to members and life, so that they -feared to dwell there; and he asks the pope's protection.[264] The pope -tells him to deprive them of all their benefices.[265] - -Some of the results of the state of things above described appear very -frequently in the bishops' registers. Illegitimacy, we have seen, was one -of the defects which stood in the way of a man's ordination, and the son -of a priest was regarded by the canons as illegitimate; but the bishop -could, if he pleased, give a dispensation which removed the barrier, and -there are many records of such dispensations.[266] Sometimes the -dispensation only admits the grantee to take minor orders, sometimes "to -take all the sacred orders, and to hold ecclesiastical benefices even with -cure of souls." In the Register of Bishop Quivil, of Exeter, 1282, is a -record of a _Dispensatio super defectu natalium_ granted to J. de -Axemuthe, the defect being that he was _de presbytero genitus et soluta_. -So, in the Exeter Register of Bishop Stapledon, J. de Hurbestone, clerk, -in 1308, had a dispensation, being _de presbytero genitus et soluta_. -_Soluta_ means single woman, but in the eye of the canon law and of the -bishop, the wife of a priest would be _soluta_, so that these may be cases -not of immorality, but of married priests. In the Register of Montacute, -Bishop of Ely, is a record of a dispensation (1338) to the son of Ada -Bray, of Canterbury, _qui patre de presbytero genitus_, to be promoted to -all minor orders.[267] In a great number of cases the nature of the -illegitimacy is _soluto genitus et soluta_--born of a single man and -single woman; it is very possible that a number of sons of the clergy may -be included in this formal legal description also. - -Sometimes a man, refused perhaps by his own bishop, went to Rome for a -dispensation, and obtained it.[268] Sometimes the Papal Court gave a -priest's son license to be promoted to any dignity _short of a -bishopric_.[269] - -If a man, being thus disqualified, neglected to obtain a proper -dispensation, he might find the neglect a serious difficulty in -after-life, or if he failed to have at hand the proof of his dispensation; -thus, in 1234, it was objected to Thomas de Melsonby, prior of Durham, -that he was the son of a rector of Melsonby, and born while his father was -in holy orders.[270] Similarly on Feb. 20, 1308-9, Stapledon, bishop of -Exeter, in the chapter-house of Launceston Priory, admonished the prior on -pain of deprivation to exhibit, within two years, to himself or his -successors, his "_Privilegium_" by virtue of which he retained the -dignity, being illegitimate. He appeared within the term and satisfied the -bishop, and was discharged.[271] - -It appears that those who were thrust out on this ground were treated with -some consideration. In 1126, Wm. de Ruley was deprived of the Church of -Ruley, on the ground that he was the son of the last minister; but the -archbishop assigned to him the tithes of a chapelry in the parish for his -support during his life.[272] The mandate for the removal of Peter of -Wivertorp from the Church of Wivertorp, for the same reason, concludes -with the note, _salva pensione_, from which we infer that all incumbents -removed for this cause were entitled to, or at least were usually granted, -a pension. But Peter of Wivertorp did not rest content with his -deprivation. He made friends at the Court of Rome, representing that his -father was married when in minor orders, and that he himself had held the -benefice for ten years; and obtained a letter from Pope Honorius -interceding for him, that he should be allowed to retain Wivertorp till -the archbishop gave him some other competent living.[273] - -The curt, formal entries in these musty records sometimes seem to give us -a glimpse into men's hearts and lives: John Curteys, Vicar of Hobeche, in -his will, made in 1418, leaves all his lands in Holbeach and Quappelode, -to William Curteys for life, on condition that he shall become a priest as -soon as possible after obtaining his legitimation, to celebrate for the -souls of his parents; the remainder for pious uses.[274] We venture to -conjecture that John Curteys, the vicar, in view of his approaching end, -was uneasy in his conscience about the uncanonical marriage of which -William was the offspring; therefore he thus appeals to his son to obtain -as rapidly as may be a dispensation, and ordination to the priesthood; -and then to use continually during his future life his priestly office in -praying for the souls of his erring parents. - -The author of "Piers Plowman's Vision" includes these dispensations to -priests' sons, and sons of serfs, among the abuses of his time, in lines -which are worth quoting-- - - For should no clerk be crowned,[275] But if he come were - Of franklins and freemen, And of folk wedded. - Bondmen[276] and bastards, And beggars' children,[276] - These belong to labour, And lord's children should serve - Both God and good men As their degree askith. - Some to sing masses, Others to sit and write, - Reade and receive, What Reason ought to spend. - And since bondmen's bairns Have been made bishops, - And bastard bairns Have been archdeacons, - And cobblers and their sons For silver have been knights, - And monks and monials, That mendicants should feed,[277] - Have made their kin knights, And knights' fees purchased, - Popes and Patrons Poor gentle blood refuse, - And take Simond's son, Sanctuary to keep. - Life holiness and love Have been long hence, - And will, till it be weared out Or otherwise ychanged. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -VISITATION ARTICLES AND RETURNS. - - -The visitation of the parishes by the Ordinary--the ecclesiastical person -who exercised spiritual jurisdiction over them[278]--was an important -feature of ecclesiastical administration.[279] We have seen that a canon -of the famous Council of Clovesho, in 747, directed bishops to make an -annual visitation of their dioceses. As time went on the duty, burdensome -alike to the bishops and clergy, fell into disuse, and seems to have been -resumed again in the twelfth century. - -The Lateran Council of 1179 made a canon to check the costs of -visitations: it decreed that an archbishop visiting churches should be -content with forty or fifty horses; a bishop with twenty or thirty; an -archdeacon with five or seven; and a dean was not to exceed two.[280] The -Pontificals contain the "Order of Visiting Parishes:"[281] the bishop is -to be met by the clergy in procession outside the gates; Mass is to be -said; the bishop is to tell the people the purpose of his coming, viz. (1) -to absolve the souls of the departed; (2) to see how the Church is -governed, the condition of its vestments, the lives of the clergy, etc.; -(3) to inquire into the sins of the laity; (4) to take cognizance of -matters which belong to the bishop; (5) to confirm children; also he is to -preach a sermon on the sacraments, etc.[282] - -From these visitations we obtain full and reliable information as to the -personal character and conduct of the parish clergy and their fulfilment -of their duties. Five or six of the parishioners, called _testes -synodales_,[283] or questmen, were sworn to give, besides a return of the -condition of the church and its furniture, a true answer to certain -questions about their clergy, viz. the rector or vicar, the chaplains, and -the clerk. - - * * * * * - -Hugh of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln (c. 1232), issued a paper of twenty-nine -questions to his clergy, which is perhaps the earliest of Visitation -Articles ("Lincoln," p. 134, S.P.C.K.). Grostete issued Articles of -Inquiry about 1250; and similar articles were issued by Roger Weseham, -Bishop of Lichfield, in 1252. In the year 1253 these following inquiries -were made "in each and every diocese of the whole kingdom of England" -concerning the life and conversation of both clerks and laymen:--[284] - - 1, 2, 3, 4 are about sensual sins on the part of the laity. 5. Whether - any laymen are drunkards, or habitually frequent taverns, or practise - usury of any kind. 6. Receive the free land of any church to farm. 7. - Or receive in their fee the tithes of any church. 8. Whether rents - assigned to lights or other specified uses of the church are converted - to the use of the rector or vicar. 9. Whether any layman is compelled - to communicate and offer after mass on Easter Day.[285] 10. Whether - any layman or other of whatever condition or reputation (_famae_) - _perierit conscio rectore vel vicario loci_. 11. Whether any layman is - notably proud, or envious, or avaricious, or slothful, or malicious, - or gluttonous, or luxurious [the seven deadly sins]. 12. Whether any - layman causes markets, or plays or pleas (_placita peculiaria_) to be - held in sacred places, and whether these things have been prohibited - on the part of the bishop. 13. Whether any laymen have played at - "Rams" (_elevaverint arietes_[286]), or caused scotales to be held, - or have contended for precedence with their banners in their - visitation of the mother church. 14. Whether any layman or woman - entertain as a guest the concubine of any man of whatever condition, - and keep a bad house. 15. Whether any sick person has lacked any - sacrament from negligence of the priest lawfully called. 16. Whether - any layman or other of whatever condition have died intestate, or - without partaking of the sacraments, by the negligence of the priest - or rector. 17. Whether any churches remain to be dedicated, or any - have been destroyed without licence from the bishop, since the Council - of London. 18. Whether Jews dwell anywhere where they have not been - used to dwell. 19. Whether any laymen have clandestinely contracted - marriage in cases forbidden by law or without banns. 20. Whether the - laity insist upon (_sunt pertinaces ut stent_) standing in the chancel - with the clergy. 21. Whether any layman causes Divine service to be - celebrated in any chapel without licence from the bishop. 22. In what - way lay servants and representatives of parsons, abbots, priors, - prioresses, and other parsons and religious persons, behave in their - granges, mansions, and possessions. 23. Let diligent inquiry be made - concerning the taxation of every church, and how much the rector of - every church has given to the subsidy of the Lord Pope. 24. Whether - any rectors or vicars or priests are very illiterate (_enormiter - illiterati_). 25. Whether the sacrament of the Eucharist is everywhere - carried to the sick with due reverence, and is kept in a proper - manner. 26. Whether any of the aforesaid or others in sacred orders - are incontinent, and in what kind of incontinence. 27. Whether the - incontinent have been corrected by the archdeacon of the place, and - how often and in what manner. 28. Whether any convicted or confessing - incontinence have bound themselves to resignation of their benefices - or other canonical punishment if they relapse, and whether any after - so binding themselves have relapsed. 29. Whether any men beneficed or - in sacred orders are married (_uxorati_). 30. Whether any clerics - frequent the churches of nuns without reasonable cause. 31. Whether - any of the clerks in holy orders keep (_tenent_) any woman related to - him, or any concerning whom evil suspicions may arise. 32. Whether any - are drunken, frequenters of taverns, or traders, or usurers, or - fighters or wrestlers, or notorious for any vice. 33. Whether any are - farmers, giving and receiving churches or vicarages to farm without - the licence of the bishop. 34. Whether any are viscounts (high - sheriffs) or secular judges, or hold bailywicks (stewardships) for - laymen, for which office they are obliged to give account (_unde - obligentur eisdem ad ratiocinia_). 35. Whether any rectors make a - bargain with their annual priests (_cum sacerdotibus annuis_) that, - besides the stipend received from the rector, they may receive - annualia and tricennalia from others. 36. Whether any is guilty of - simony, either in regard to ordination or preferment. 37. Whether any - parish priest has not sufficient maintenance from the rector. 38. - Whether any rector or vicar has built on a lay fee or cemetery out of - the revenues of the Church, or has placed tithes in a lay fee. 39. - Whether any carry weapons, or have not the tonsure, and fitting habit. - 40. Whether any one has more than one cure of souls without - dispensation. 41. Whether any rector or vicar is the son of the last - incumbent. 42. Whether any priest extorts money for penance or other - sacraments, or enjoins lucrative penances. 43. Whether deacons hear - confessions or minister other sacraments committed to priests only. - 44. Whether any rector or vicar does not reside on his benefice. 45. - Whether any church has not clerks or one honest clerk according to the - means of the church. 46. Whether the cemeteries are everywhere - enclosed, and the churches becomingly built and adorned, and the - ornamenta and sacred vessels properly kept. 47. Whether any priest - celebrates in sour wine (_aceto_). 48. Whether any beneficed men learn - or teach secular laws.[287] 49. Whether cartings are done (_fiant - cariagia_) on the Lord's days or festivals, and by whom. 50. Whether - the canon of the mass is everywhere duly corrected. 51. Whether any - layman or cleric keeps as a guest the concubine of a cleric, and where - are there harbours of concubines. 52. Whether any priest celebrates - twice a day except in the conceded cases, and except in his own - church. 53. Whether any religious have appropriated to themselves any - tithes, or churches, or such like, or any additional pension or - portion has been given to religious, without the consent of the bishop - of the place. 54. Whether any vicars make themselves rectors, or the - converse. 55. Whether any illegitimates who have not a dispensation - hold ecclesiastical benefices, or are in sacred orders. 56. Whether - any act as rectors or vicars who have not been instituted by the - bishop. 57. Whether the super altars are proper (_honesta_), and not - used for grinding colours upon them. 58. Whether adulteries and public - and notorious crimes of laymen are duly corrected by the archdeacon, - and whether any one has celebrated marriage in a disallowed case. 59. - Whether in every deanery there have been appointed penitentiaries[288] - of rectors, vicars, and priests, and who they are. 60. What priests - were ordained in Ireland or elsewhere outside this diocese, and whence - did they come, and in what places have they ministered hitherto, and - by whom are they licensed to celebrate. 61. Whether in every - archdeaconry there are sufficient penitentiaries of the bishop (for - cases reserved to the bishop?). 62. Concerning the life and proper - conduct of archdeacons, deans, and clerics who minister in churches, - and concerning the agents and servants of parsons and others. 63. - Whether any anchorite has been made without the assent of the bishop. - 64. Whether any monks or religious dwell in their granges or - possessions, and how the monks behave there in spiritual things, and - what is their reputation. 65. Whether the dean and others have entered - into a confederacy during the vacancy of the see to the prejudice of - the incoming bishop. 66. Whether any archdeacons have received more - for procuration than they ought to receive according to the new - constitution. 67. Enquiry is to be made concerning executors of wills, - whether they have acted well and faithfully in the performance of - their executorship, and if concerning the said executorship they have - paid the computum to the bishop. 68. Whether markets are held by any - one on the Lord's day. - -The answers show that the _testes synodales_ did not scruple to find fault -when they had cause, and perhaps sometimes when they had not much cause. -We gather a few of the returns from the diocese of Exeter at Bishop -Stapledon's Visitation in 1301,[289] as examples-- - -_Sidbury._--Walter the Vicar, _optime se habet in omnibus, bene predicans, -et officium sacrum sacerdotale laudabiliter exercens. Similiter et Clerici -honeste se gerunt._ - -_Branscombe._--Thomas the Vicar conducts himself well in all things, and -preaches willingly (_libenter_), and diligently does all things which -belong to the office of a priest. - -The returns from many parishes are equally satisfactory. We take more -interest, perhaps, in those in which the failings of the clergy are -pointed out. Here are some of them-- - -_Culmstock._--William the Vicar is a man of good life and honest -conversation, and his clerk likewise, and well instructs his parishioners. -In the visitation of the sick and baptizing the children, and in all -things which belong to his office, they know nothing to be found fault -with in him, with the exception that he makes too little pause between the -matins and mass on festival days.[290] - -_Colyton._--Sir Robert the Vicar is a good man (_probus homo_), and -preaches to them so far as he knows (_quatenus novit_), but not -_sufficienter_, as it seems to them. They say also that his predecessors -were accustomed to call the friars to instruct them about their souls' -salvation, but he does not care for them; and if by chance they come he -does not receive them, nor give them entertainment (_viatica_); whereof -they pray that he may be admonished. Item, all the chaplains and clerks of -the church live _honeste et continentes_.[291] - -At a later visitation, in 1330, the synodsmen of Colyton complain that -their vicar had been struck with leprosy, but continued to come to -communion with the parishioners at the risk of contaminating the whole -flock, which was a scandal. They report that they used to have one -sufficient vicar, one fit parochial chaplain, one deacon, and two clerks -serving in the said church of the alms of the parishioners, and that the -vicar used to find that number, out of whom they have now only one -chaplain and one clerk, and that the said vicar refuses to supply more. -They complain that the vicar chooses his parish clerk at his own pleasure, -and will not _manucipere pro eodem_. They say that the clerks of the -church used by custom to ring the curfew, and at the elevation of the -_corpus domini_. - -They complain that John Prouz (lord of the manor of Gatcombe, in the -parish) is not willing to contribute with the other parishioners to the -church, nor to do other things which belong to him. They say that Sir Hugo -Prouz, father of the said John, knight, deceased, left 10 marks sterling -to the fabric of the church of Colyton, which the heirs refuse to -pay.[292] - -_Colebrook._--Hugh de Coppelestone and other trustworthy men of the -parish, lawfully requisitioned and examined, say that Sir William the -Vicar preaches after his own fashion (_suo modo_); also he expounds to -them the Gospels on the Lord's Days so far as he knows (_quatenus novit_); -but concerning the Articles of the Faith, the Commandments of the -Decalogue, and the mortal sins, he does not teach them much. And he does -not say his matins with note on the more solemn days, and only celebrates -on the week days every other day. He is defamed of incontinency with Lucia -de la Stubbe, a married woman (_conjugata_). All his houses, except the -hall and chamber, which were in a good state at his coming, are now -falling to pieces and threatening to come down, and could not be made good -for a hundred shillings. Also his gate is so far from the hall, which he -has lately lengthened, that one calling without is not heard in the hall, -which is dangerous for the sick parishioners.[293] - -_St. Mary Church._--The parishioners have some complaints to make about -business matters between themselves and the vicar, but finally testify -that he preaches well and exercises his office laudably in all things when -he is present; but that he is often absent, and stays at Moreton sometimes -for fifteen days, sometimes for eight, so that they have not a chaplain, -unless when Sir Walter, the chaplain of the archdeacon, is present, or -some one can by chance be obtained from some other place. - -_Dawlash._--In Bishop Stapledon's Visitation, in 1301, the _synodales_ say -that the vicar, who has the reputation of being a good man, does not -reside in person, but has in his place Sir Adam, a chaplain, who conducts -himself _bene et honeste_, and teaches them excellently in spiritual -matters. But Randulphus the chaplain has had his concubine for ten years -or more, and, often corrected for it (_saepius inde correptus_), remains -incorrigible. The clerk of the church is _continens et honestus_. - -An important testimony to the estimation in which the clergy were -generally held by their parishioners, is afforded by the fact that it was -very usual for the people to seek their assistance in making their wills, -and also to appoint them as executors, to see to the due carrying out of -their testamentary arrangements. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -PROVISION FOR OLD AGE. - - -We have followed our parish priest through various phases of his life and -work; there remains one more--before that last one through which all -priests and people must pass--on which the records throw a considerable -amount of light. Parish priests grow old--sometimes old and infirm and -incapable of fulfilling the duties of their position. What to do with -them, in fairness to them and in fairness to the parishioners, is a -problem which perplexes us at this moment. Then, as now, if the income of -the benefice, or the private income of the incumbent, enabled him to -obtain the help of a competent chaplain, that was accepted as on the whole -the best solution. It permitted the old pastor to end his days among his -people, and still to be the friend and counsellor of those who cared to -seek him. The difficulty then, as now, is in the case of a benefice which -is too poor both to give a competent maintenance to the old incumbent and -to engage the services of a competent _locum tenens_. We find from not -infrequent records of such cases in the bishops' registers that, to begin -with, the bishop sequestrated the benefice, usually appointing a -neighbouring clergyman as sequestrator. Then, in the arrangement of -matters, it seems to have been thought right always to leave the old -incumbent to end his days among his own people and in his own house, with -a sufficient maintenance out of the income of the benefice. On the other -hand, in justice to the parish, a chaplain was appointed who took -independent charge of the parish. It would seem that this coadjutor -usually lived in the parsonage house, or part of it, not as the guest of -the old incumbent, but rather as his host, except where the premises were -formally divided into two tenements for the independent accommodation of -both. It will be borne in mind that the celibate condition of the clergy -would make the arrangement of such cases much more easy in those times -than in these. - -The unwillingness of an infirm vicar to be disturbed was met in the way -illustrated by this individual case: In 1322 the patron of the parish of -Letton, Herefordshire, complained to the bishop that the rector, Milo by -name, had, from old age and ill health, been absent from his church during -many years without licence of non-residence, though often admonished to -reside. The bishop issued a commission, consisting of neighbouring -incumbents, to inquire. They replied that Milo had not resided for ten -years, that the services had been very badly done by numerous chaplains, -and the parishioners grossly neglected, and that the rectory house and -buildings were falling into decay. A coadjutor was appointed by the bishop -to assist him in the cure of his parish.[294] - -Here are some illustrative cases of a more satisfactory kind. Philip de -Harwodelme, Rector of Bigby--it is recorded in the Register of Bishop -Quivil, of Exeter,[295] in 1286--being so cast down by disease and broken -by old age as to feel himself entirely unequal to the care of the souls of -the parishioners, had a retiring pension assigned to him of twenty marks, -out of the great tithes of the parish. This is a very simple solution of -the difficulty, since the pension, equal to L13, was an ample one, and, it -is to be assumed, the benefice large enough to spare it.[296] - -In 1309, William de Tres ... Vicar of Perran Zabulo, being very old and -infirm, Bishop Stapledon grants a sequestration of the living to Sir Wm. -de Mileborne, Rector of Lanhorne; and an arrangement is made by which -Michael de Newroneck is appointed coadjutor to the old vicar, and is to -pay him two shillings a-week for his sustenance; and out of the rest of -the benefice is to live himself and maintain hospitality, and pay all -charges on the living. - -In 1316, the bishop appointed Thomas de Dylington, Rector of Cumbfflorie, -as coadjutor to the Rector of Lidiard St. Lawrence, who is blind, old, -and broken in health; the appointment is made subject to revocation at -the bishop's pleasure. - -In appointing a coadjutor to Sir Wm., Vicar of St. Colan, on account of -his great infirmity, it is stated in Bishop Stapledon's Register that the -coadjutor is to take charge of the goods, etc., of the vicarage. And so in -the case of Sir Henry, Vicar of Constantine, a coadjutor is appointed by -the same bishop, who is to take an inventory of the vicar's goods, and to -have the vicar and his goods in his care, and to provide honourably for -the vicar and his family. - -In the Registers of Lichfield Diocese, we find the incumbents of -Stoke-on-Terne, Uttoxeter, St. Peter's, Derby, etc., resigning on a -pension secured by the oath of their successors; and chaplains assigned to -the Vicar of Lapley, who is old and blind, and the Rector of Maxstoke, -because he is infirm; and so in other dioceses. - -The arrangement between the vicar and his successor does not always work -quite smoothly. This seems to be the explanation of the action of Bishop -Stapledon, of Exeter, who, in 1326, admonishes Barthol de More, Vicar of -Kynstock by the resignation of John Mon, who is decrepit, to continual -residence, and to take oath to maintain the said John as long as he lives. -But soon after a more definite arrangement is made that "lest, in process -of time, to the scandal of the clergy, the said John should be compelled -miserably to beg, he shall receive a payment of six marks of silver, viz. -40_s._ at St. Michael, and 40_s._ at Easter." - -Cases difficult to deal with sometimes occurred. Considering the -prevalence of leprosy from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, it is -not wonderful to find the vicar of a parish among the victims of the -dreadful disease. We have met with one case in the preceding chapter of a -Vicar of Colyton, in Exeter diocese, in 1330. We are not told what steps -the bishop took in that case; but in a similar case at St. Neot's, in the -same diocese, the vicar being struck with leprosy, Bishop Stapledon -appointed Ralph de Roydene, chaplain, to be his coadjutor, and gave the -vicar and the living into the custody of the coadjutor. The bishop orders -that since the vicar cannot, without danger, have intercourse with the -whole people as he has been accustomed, the vicar shall have the better -chamber (_meliorem cameram_) with the houses adjoining it, except the -hall, to live, and eat, and drink in; and that the entrance should be -closed between the said chamber and the hall, and a new entrance made to -the said chamber externally in a suitable place, by which the vicar, when -need is, can have ingress and egress; and a _cloaca_, likewise, to the -said chamber, in a fitting place. The said Sir Ralph shall pay to the said -vicar every week for his maintenance in food, drink, and firing, and other -small necessaries, 2_s._ sterling, and yearly on the feast of St. Michael, -or thereabout, 20_s._ for his robe; also he shall keep in repair the -houses of the said vicarage, both those which the vicar inhabits, and all -the other buildings of the vicarage, and shall undertake and see after all -other burdens belonging to the said vicarage.[297] - -There is a case in the Chichester Register in which the master and -brethren of the college of the Holy Trinity, Arundel, petition the bishop -to give a pension to Wm. Rateford, resigning the Vicarage of Kurdford, -lest he come to beggary, to the scandal of the clergy. - -In another Chichester case, Thomas Bolle, Rector of Aldrington, Sussex, -having resigned his living in 1402, applied to the bishop, Robert Rede, -for leave to build a cell against the wall of the church, in which he -might be shut up--as a recluse--for the rest of his life. The license was -granted, and the Reclusorium remains to this day in the shape of a room 29 -ft. by 25 ft., with ingress to the chapel of the Blessed Virgin on the -north side of the church.[298] - -In 1422, Spofford, Bishop of Hereford, instituted a vicar to the parish of -Dilwyn, in the place of Walter Robins, to whom, as having discharged his -duties in a laudable manner, a pension of 40_s._ is assigned, to prevent -his falling into beggary, and so becoming a scandal to the Church. His -pension is to begin fifteen days after his resignation, and to be paid -quarterly. He is to have a chamber in the vicarage house on the ground -floor (_bassam cameram_), with a fireplace in it, and near the entrance -door (_hostium actuale_), with free ingress and egress, and power of -redress in case of failure in punctuality of payment.[299] - -In the adjoining parish of Webley, a vicar retiring in 1440 is to receive -eight marks, a room on the ground floor, the use of the vicarage kitchen, -well, and garden; and the incoming incumbent is to assure these benefits -by oath. - -Beneficed clergymen had a freehold in their benefices, and therefore a -legal claim for provision in old age, not so with unbeneficed men; but we -meet with a few examples of kindly care for them. For example: In 1237 the -Bishop of Durham obtained the papal licence to place certain clerks of his -diocese who have become old, weak, and blind in a house together, and -assign the tithe of his wills for their support;[300] Thomas Ricard, in -1433, leaves, "to John Wright, chaplain, because he is blind and poor, a -mark per annum for life."[301] - -William Malham, of Elslack, absentee rector--being a master in -Chancery--of the parish of Marton, Yorks, in the beginning of the reign of -Henry VIII., writes to his brother: "I will Sir W. Martindale be Parish -Priest at Marton, and to have like wages as Sir W. Hodgson had, and Sir W. -Hodgson to have six marks yearly, during his life, to tarry at Marton, and -praye for me and my mother's and father's sawles. They both to begin their -service at midsomer next coming." This seems to be a kindly way of -pensioning off an old parish chaplain.[302] - - * * * * * - -If the reader wishes to follow our parish priest to the grave, and join -in his obsequies, he may turn to pp. 452 and 457, where he will find -sufficient suggestions to enable him to reproduce the funeral and the -funeral service, and the month's-mind and obit. The wills of priests -sometimes give directions for their monuments; for example, in 1384, -Michael Northburgh, Canon of Chichester, and Rector of Hampstap, willed to -be buried in Chichester Cathedral, in a spot which he minutely describes: -"A marble stone to be placed over my grave with a half statue like that of -Mgr. William Blythe, with this inscription: Hic jacet Michael -Northborough, quondam Canonicus Ecclie Cicestren. et Rector Ecclie de -Hampstap, cuius Aie P'picietur Deus. Amen. And the statue to hold a scroll -in its hands with the words, Miseremini mei, Miseremini mei, saltem bos -Amici, quia Manus Domini tetigit me."[303] - -William of Duffield, Chaplain of St. Martin's, in Coney Street, York (A.D. -1361), left 20_s._ to buy a gravestone for himself, and 3_s._ 4_d._ for -workmanship and sculpturing a chalice thereon.[304] - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE PARISH CLERK. - - -The parish clerk seems to have existed about as long as the parish priest, -if we are right in assuming that the man of sober life whom the parish -priest was required by the "canons of King Edgar" to bring with him to the -diocesan synods (see p. 67) was the prototype of that useful official. At -least, from a very early time every parish had its clerk to attend upon -the priest in his office, and to perform a number of useful services on -behalf of the parishioners. An Injunction of Bishop Grostete says, "In -every church which hath sufficient means there shall be a deacon and -sub-deacon, but in the rest at least a fitting and honest clerk to serve -the priest in a comely habit."[305] A Canon of a Synod of Ely (1528) -enjoins all parish clerks to serve their priests at high mass reverently -and devoutly. - -[Illustration: Coronation procession of Charles V. of France. (From MS. of -Froissart's Chronicle.)] - -The general custom was for the incumbent to choose and appoint the clerk, -and for the parishioners to pay him; but in some parishes the parishioners -had a prescriptive right to choose; and there are indications that in some -parishes it was the custom for the rector or vicar to pay him.[306] Having -been duly chosen and appointed, the clerk was licensed by the Ordinary, -and held his office as a freehold, being removable by the Ordinary, and by -him only for misconduct. His duties were to attend on the parish priest, -and assist in the services of the church; to ring the bell for services, -prepare the altar, lead the people in the responses; precede the -procession with holy water; precede the priest with bell and taper in -going to visit the sick, and such-like things. - -[Illustration: Parish Clerk sprinkling Holy Water. (Early 14th cent. MS. -British Museum, Royal, 10 E. IV.)] - -One curious custom of his office was to go round the parish on Sundays and -great festivals, and to enter the houses in order to asperse the people -with holy water, sometimes, perhaps on some special festivals, it would be -to cense them, for Absolon, the parish clerk in Chaucer's "Canterbury -Tales" (Miller's Tale)-- - - Goth with a censer on the holy day, - Censing the wives of the parish faste. - -A MS. in the British Museum of early fourteenth century date (Royal, 10 E. -IV.) contains a story which turns on the adventures of a parish priest, as -he goes through the parish on this errand. Our illustration, taken from -f. 108 _verso_, shows how, after going into the kitchen to sprinkle the -cook, he then goes to the hall to sprinkle the lord and lady as they sit -at dinner. In the Harl. MS., 2278, f. 76, is a picture of a parish clerk -about to asperse the dead body of a child, the mother withdrawing the -winding-sheet for the purpose.[307] It was from this duty that the parish -clerk took the name of "Aquabajalus." - -His stipend was made up of customary fees, especially for his services at -marriages and burials, which differed in various parishes, and voluntary -donations. A custom of this kind is good (says Lyndwode), that every -master of a family on every Lord's day give the clerk bearing the holy -water, somewhat according to the exigency of his condition; and that on -Christmas Day he have of every house one loaf of bread, and a certain -number of eggs at Easter, and in the autumn certain sheaves. Also that may -be called a laudable custom where such clerk every quarter of the year -receives something in certain money for his sustenance, which ought to be -collected and levied in the whole parish. - -A great number of the mediaeval wills contain small bequests to the parish -clerk, and to clerks attending the funeral of the testator. - -A story told by Matthew Paris[308] makes us acquainted with the average -income thus derived. "It happened that an agent of the pope met a jolly -clerk of a village carrying water in a little vessel with a sprinkler, and -some bits of bread given him for having sprinkled some holy water, and to -him the deceitful Roman thus addressed himself: 'How much does the profit -yielded to you by this church amount to in a year?' To which the clerk, -ignorant of the Roman's cunning, replied, 'To twenty shillings, I think.' -Whereupon the agent demanded the percentage the pope had just demanded on -all ecclesiastical benefices. And to pay that small sum the poor man was -compelled to hold school for many days, and, by selling his books in the -precincts, to drag on a half-starved life." - -Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury, in his Constitutions of 1260, says-- - - We have often heard from our elders that the benefices of holy water - were originally instituted from a motive of charity, in order that one - of their proper poor clerks might have exhibitions to the schools, and - so advance in learning, that they might be fit for higher preferment. - -He therefore desires that in churches which are not distant more than ten -miles from the cities and castles of the province of Canterbury, the -rectors and vicars should endeavour to find such clerks, and appoint them -to the office. And if the parishioners withhold the customary alms to -them, let them be urgently admonished, and, if need be, compelled to give -them. - -We are not surprised to find that parish clerks of this kind often kept -the village schools. - - Peckham, Archbishop in 1280, ordered in the church of Bauquell and the - chapels annexed to it, that there should be _duos clericos - scholasticos_, carefully chosen by the parishioners, from whose alms - they would have to live, who should carry holy water round in the - parish and chapels on Lord's days and festivals, and minister _in - divinis officiis_, and on week days should keep school.[309] - Alexander, Bishop of Coventry, 1237, ordered parish clerks who should - be schoolmasters in country villages.[310] - -The custom of putting young scholars into the office of parish clerk to -help them to proceed to holy orders, explains some kindly bequests which -we meet with in wills: - - Robert de Weston, Rector of Marum, 1389, leaves "to John Penne, my - clerk, a missal of the new Use of Sarum, if he wishes to be a priest, - otherwise I give him 20_s._ My servant Thomas Thornawe, 20_s._ The - residue of my goods to be solde as quickly as possible, _communi - pretio_, so that the purchasers may be bound to pray for my - soul."[311] - - Giles de Gadlesmere, in 1337, left to Wm. Ockam, clerk, C_s._, unless - he be promoted before my death.[312] - -The parish clerks of a town or neighbourhood sometimes formed themselves -into a gild, as in London, Lincoln, etc.,[313] and it would seem that -these gilds in some places entertained their neighbours, and no doubt -augmented their own funds, by the exhibition of miracle plays. The parish -clerks of London used to exhibit, on the anniversary of their gild, on the -green in the parish of St. James, Clerkenwell. In 1391, Stow says that -they performed before the king and queen and the whole court for three -days successively, and that, in 1409, they performed a play of the -"Creation of the World," the representation of which occupied eight -successive days. - -Chaucer gives a portrait of a parish clerk in the Miller's Tale of his -"Canterbury Pilgrims"-- - - Now was there of that churche a parish clerke - The which that was y-cleped Absolon. - Crulle[314] was his here and as the gold it shon, - And strouted[315] as a fanne large and brode; - Ful streight and even lay his jolly shode.[316] - His rode[317] was red, his eyen grey as goos, - With Poules windowes carved on his shoos, - In hosen red he went ful fetisly[318] - Yclad he was ful smal and proprely - All in a kirtle of a light wajet[319] - Ful faire and thicke ben the pointes set. - And therupon he had a gay surplise - As white as is the blossome upon the rise.[320] - A mery child he was so God me save, - Well could he leten blod and clippe and shave - And make a charte of lond and a quitance. - In twenty manner could he trip and daunce - (After the schole of Oxenforde tho) - And playen songes on a smal ribible[321] - Therto he sang, sometime a loud quinible[321] - And as wel could he play on a giterne.[321] - In all the town n'as brewhouse ne taverne - That he ne visited with his solas, - Theras that any galliard tapstere was. - This Absolon that jolly was and gay - Goth with a censor on the holy day - Censing the wives of the parish faste - And many a lovely loke he on hem caste. - - * * * * * - - Sometime to shew his lightness and maistrie - He plaieth Herod on a skaffold hie. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -CUSTOMS. - - -It remains to mention a great variety of observances and customs, some of -them superstitious, some innocent enough, many of them picturesque and -poetical and giving colour and variety to the popular religious life. It -would need another volume as large as this to do justice to the subject -which we find ourselves compelled to deal with in a single chapter. - -The right of Sanctuary, the immunity from violence even of the criminal -who had put himself under the protection of present Deity, which was -provided for in the Levitical cities of refuge, which attached to the -temples of the gods of Greece and Rome, was, when the empire became -Christian, readily accorded to churches and their precincts. We have had -occasion to mention its existence in Saxon times;[322] it seems desirable -to say that it continued to be an important feature in the life of the -times of which we are now speaking. There were special -sanctuaries--cities of refuge--with special privileges, as at Durham, -Ripon, Hexham, Beverley, Battle, Beaulieu, Westminster, St. Martin's le -Grand, the Savoy, Whitefriars, and the Mint in London, and other places. -Every church and every churchyard shared in the privilege, and it was no -very unusual incident to find it made use of. - -As an illustration of its efficacy, we may point to the story that after -the battle of Tewkesbury, King Edward IV., with some of his knights, was -about to enter the church, sword in hand, in pursuit of some of the -defeated Lancastrians who had taken refuge there, when the priest met them -at the door bearing the consecrated host, and refused them entrance till -the king had promised pardon to several of the refugees. We frequently -meet with examples of people in danger to life or liberty taking refuge in -the nearest church. - -The church was also a sanctuary for property. It was very usual to deposit -money and valuables there for safe custody. We give some examples of it in -a footnote.[323] Jews were not allowed to deposit their money and -valuables in churches. - -The churchyard also gave a certain protection.[324] Ordericus Vitalis -relates that the villagers in time of war sometimes removed themselves and -their goods thither, and built themselves huts within the precincts, and -were left unmolested. From a canon of the Synod of Westminster, 1142, we -learn that ploughs and other agricultural implements placed in the -churchyard had certain immunities, probably freedom from seizure for debt. -The canon decreed that the ploughs in the fields, with the husbandmen, -should have the same immunity.[325] - -A similar privilege attached to the persons of bishops; Bishop St. Hugh of -Lincoln meeting the sheriff and his men taking a man to execution, claimed -the criminal, and carried him off. The Abbot of Battle on one occasion -claimed and exercised the same episcopal privilege. - - * * * * * - -Pilgrimage was a popular act of devotion from Saxon times downwards, and -afforded a relief to the stay-at-home habits of the people. The pilgrimage -to the Holy Land was the most highly esteemed, after that, to the -thresholds of the apostles at Rome, and to Compostella, and great numbers -went thither. The most famous native pilgrimages were to St. Thomas of -Canterbury and Our Lady of Walsingham, but every cathedral had its shrine, -and many monasteries and many churches their relics. It would occupy pages -even to give a list of the known places of pilgrimage in every county. Let -it suffice to mention the shrines of St. Cuthbert at Durham, St. William -at York, and little St. William at Norwich, St. Hugh at Lincoln, St. -Edward Confessor at Westminster, St. Erkenwald at London, St. Wulstan at -Worcester, St. Swithun at Winchester, St. Edmund at Bury, SS. Etheldreda -and Withburga at Ely, St. Thomas at Hereford, St. Frideswide at Oxford, -St. Werburgh at Chester, St. Wulfstan at Worcester, St. Wilfrid at Ripon, -St. Richard at Chichester, St. Osmund at Salisbury, St. Paulinus at -Rochester. There were famous roods, as that near the north door of St. -Paul's, London, and the roods of Chester and Bromholme; and statues, as -that of Our Lady of Wilsden, and of Bexley, and of other places. There -were scores of sacred wells; that of St. Winifred at Holywell, near -Chester, with its exquisite architectural enclosure and canopy, is still -almost perfect, and still resorted to for its supposed healing virtues. - -Before a man went on any of the greater pilgrimages, he obtained a licence -from his parish priest, and first went to church and received the Church's -blessing on his pious enterprise, and her prayers for his good success and -safe return, and was formally invested with his staff, scrip, and bottle -(water-bottle). The office for blessing pilgrims may be found in the old -service books. While he was away he was mentioned every Sunday, as we have -seen, in the Bidding Prayer, in his parish church. On the road, and at the -end of his journey, he found hospitals founded by pious people on purpose -to entertain pilgrims, and on the exhibition of his formal licence he -received kindly hospitality. At every great place of pilgrimage "signs" -were sold to the pilgrims, the palm at Jerusalem, scallop shells at St. -James of Compostella, and the like. In many places water, in which had -been dipped one of the relics, was sold, to be used in case of sickness, -enclosed in a leaden ampul, and was worn suspended by a cord from the -neck. Fragments of the pilgrim roads may still be traced in narrow deep -overgrown lanes on the hillsides between Guildford and Reigate, between -Westerham and Seven Oaks, leading towards Canterbury, and in green lanes -through Norfolk leading towards Walsingham. On his return the pilgrim went -to church to return thanks, and hung up his signs over his bed as -treasured mementoes of his adventurous journey. Sometimes the palmer's -staff, or the scallop shells, were, on his death, hung on the church wall, -as the knight's gauntlets, sword, and helmet were.[326] - -The whole body of the people had an opportunity of a short pilgrimage on -the occasion of the annual procession of the parishes to the cathedral -church, or if that were too far, to some other central church with -special attractions, with banners waving and most likely music playing, -there to meet the processions from other parishes, as has been already -described at p. 121. - - * * * * * - -Very frequently at the great Festivals there was some picturesque addition -to the services in church; as the grotto and cradle at Christmas, the -sprinkling of ashes on Ash Wednesday, the veiling of the rood during Lent, -the procession bearing palms round the churchyard on Palm Sunday, the -creeping to the cross on Good Friday, the Easter sepulchre, on Whitsunday -the white dresses of the baptizands, the blessing of the fields on -Rogation days, the festival of the Dedication of the parish church which -was held on its saint's day, and was a great day of social feasting. Every -Sunday the procession (Litany) round the church, sometimes preceded by a -miserable figure in white, bearing a taper, doing penance. At funerals -there was a great display of mournful pageantry; and month's-minds, and -obits, frequently occurring, added a feature to the service in which -everybody took a personal interest; for the good people then, when the -banns of a marriage were published, kindly responded with a "God speed -them well"; and when the names of the departed were proclaimed, prayed -"God rest their souls." - - * * * * * - -In the Middle Ages, all the services of the church, attended by the -people, were celebrated by daylight, except, perhaps, the first evensong -on the eves of saint days, and very early celebrations, and then the -attendants probably brought a taper or a coil of wax-light for themselves, -so that there was no need of provision for the lighting up of the whole -interior of churches, such as is customary in these days; but lights in -churches were a conspicuous part of their furniture, and the provision of -them was a source of general interest to the people. - -First there were the altar lights. A law of Edmund directs that the priest -shall not celebrate without a light; not for use, but as a symbol. At low -mass one candle on the gospel side of the altar was sufficient, _e.g._ one -was habitually used in Lincoln Cathedral at low mass. In poor churches, -sometimes only one was used. Myrc, in his "Instructions to Parish -Priests," says-- - - Look that thy candle of wax it be, - And set it so that thou it see, - On the left half of thine altere, - And look always that it burn clere. - -In pictures of the celebration of the Eucharist in illuminated MSS., we -sometimes find only one candle on the altar, _e.g._ in Nero E. II. -(fourteenth cent.) _passim_. More usually in later times two wax candles -were placed on the altar, which were understood to symbolize the presence -in the sacrament of Christ the Light of the World, and their number to -allude to the two natures in our Lord. - -It was required that an oil-lamp should hang before the high altar, always -alight, in honour of the reserved sacrament in its Pyx. It was an ancient -custom to have a great ornamented wax-light at Easter, called the Paschal -Candle, in honour of the Resurrection of our Lord. Lights were placed on -the rood-loft, and tapers were burned in front of the images of the -saints, here and there in the church and its chapels. "The lighting of -candles is not to dispel darkness, but to show that the saints are -lightened by the light of heaven from God, as when they were alive, and -the light of Faith, Grace, and Doctrine shone in them in this life." "The -Church Light before the rood, the relics, or images of saints burneth to -the honour of God."[327] - -The number of these lights before saints was sometimes considerable. For -example, the churchwardens' accounts of All Saints', Derby, for 1466-67, -give entries with respect to the lights in that church, which tell us the -number of images of saints, the number of tapers before each image, and -the way in which they were provided:-- - - St. Catherine's lights contained 20 serges, maintained by the - collection of the Candle lighter. - - St. Nicholas' light contained 12 serges, maintained by the gathering - of the Parish Clerk on St. Nicholas' night. - - Four other serges were burnt before St. Nicholas, which were provided - by the Schoolmaster's gathering from his scholars, St. Nicholas being - the patron saint of School boys. - - St. Eloy's (Elgius) light had 6 serges, maintained by the Gild of the - Farriers. - - St. Clement's light had 5 serges, maintained by the Gild of Bakers. - - Our Lady's light contained 5 serges, maintained by the Shoemakers. - - Before the Rood 5 serges were maintained by 5 several benefactors. - - Before the Mary of Pity 5 serges were maintained by the wife of Ralph - Mayre. - - In the Lady Chapel before our Lady 3 serges, maintained by 3 several - benefactors. - - In the same chapel before the Image of St. John Baptist several serges - maintained by one benefactor. - - Before St. Christopher 5 serges by 5 individuals. - - 3 serges which Anc{r} Geyr found, one before our Lady, another before - St. Catherine, and the third before the Trinity Altar. - - Before St. Edmund 2 serges by the gathering of the Clerk on St. - Edmund's night, gathering as they do on St. Nicholas' night.[328] - -Dr. Cox says that these lights were probably all lighted at high mass; but -those of saints only on their saint days, and that only the altar-lamp was -left alight all night. - -At the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a temporary -wooden chandelier, called a trindle, bearing many lights, was set up in -church, and the attendants at the service brought tapers with them; the -general illumination gave to the festival the name of Candle-Mass. - -The popularity of these lights is shown in many ways--gilds maintained -them, the public generally subscribed to them, and testators frequently -left money to them. - -A taper seems sometimes to have been symbolical of a person, as when the -people who followed a procession carried them and presented them at the -altar; when a nun to be professed and an anchoress to be enclosed, thus -carried and offered them; when a penitent carried them; and, when in -excommunication, "by bell, book, and candle," the candle was extinguished. -Perhaps, in giving to the lights before the rood and the images of saints, -there was some notion in the donors' minds that they were keeping -themselves in the recollection of Christ and the saints. - -Besides these ritual lights, it was customary at a funeral to set up a -wooden herse in church around the coffin, and to place two or more large -wax candles, often called torches, about the herse. People often made -provision in their wills for such lights, not only on the day of the -funeral, but on the week-day, month's-mind, and yearly obit, and sometimes -at a perpetual obit. Perhaps what was intended to be symbolized was that, -though their bodies were buried in darkness, their souls were in the land -of light. - - * * * * * - -The dramatic representation of Scripture subjects--the Three Kings at -Christmas, the Passion of our Lord in Lent, and others at other times--was -common in the cathedrals, monasteries, large towns, and perhaps villages. -Bishop Poor, in his "Ancren Riewle," suggests that female recluses, who -sometimes lived in a cell beside the church, may have to mention among -other subjects of confession, "I went to the play in the churchyard; I -looked on at the wrestling, or other foolish sports." The Passion play at -Ober Ammergau has proved that such performances may be made dignified and -devotional. - - * * * * * - -The custom of using the churchyard for purposes of business and pleasure -was very common and very persistent. As early as the fourth century St. -Basil protested against the holding of markets in the precincts of -churches, under pretext of making better provision for the festivals; but -the custom held its own, and we have a catena of synodical declarations -against holding secular pleas, markets and fairs, and indulging in sports, -in church and churchyard, and a series of complaints by the synodsmen in -their annual presentation to their bishops of the breach of the canons. - -Cardinal Ottobon, at the Synod of London, 1268, made a constitution -prohibiting this kind of use of the sacred building and its enclosure; and -strictly enjoining all bishops and other prelates to cause it to be -inviolably observed on pain of ecclesiastical censure; and here are a few -examples of the way in which it was disregarded down to so late a period -as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: - -The parishioners of St. Michael le Belfry, York, in 1416, complain that a -common market is held in their churchyard on Sundays and holidays.[329] In -the explanation of the Second Commandment, c. xvi., in "Dives and -Pauper," in allusion to the abuse, which adds a little to our information, -"no markette sholde be holden by vytaylers or other chapmen on Sondaye in -the churche or in the churchyarde or at the church gate ne in sentuary -(churchyard) ne out." In another place (Sixth Commandment, c. i.) we learn -that the chapmen and their families sometimes slept in the church or -churchyard. - -One of the canons of the Synod of Exeter, 1287, strictly enjoins on parish -priests that they publicly proclaim in their churches that no one presume -to carry on combats, dances, or other improper sports in the churchyards, -especially on the even and feasts of saints, or stage plays or farces -(_ludos theatrales et ludebriorum spectacula_).[330] Yet in 1472, at -Sallay, in Yorkshire, it is found necessary to make an order that no one -use improper and prohibited sports within the churchyard, as, for example, -_pilopedali vel manuale_, tutts and handball, or wrestling. - - * * * * * - -A custom which is still more opposed to our sense of propriety was that of -holding church ales in the sacred building. A church ale was the old form -of parish tea. It was connected with works of piety or charity, or of -Christian fellowship, and in the eyes of the people of those times perhaps -partook of the nature of the primitive love-feasts. They made a collection -for the poor of the parish at a Whitsun Ale, started a young couple with a -little sum by a Bride Ale, or got a man out of difficulties by a Bid Ale -(from _biddan_, to pray or beg). So persistent was the custom, that in our -latest English canons of 1603 it is thought necessary to prohibit any -holding of feasts, banquets, suppers, or church ale drinkings in -church.[331] - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -ABUSES. - - -Even a book like this, which professes to deal with the humbler details of -parochial life, rather than with the greater matters of ecclesiastical -history, would be defective if it failed to take some note of the -administrative abuses against which all Europe complained for centuries, -and tried in vain to get them amended in the three great Councils at Pisa, -Constance, and Basle. We shall treat of them very briefly, and chiefly in -their relation to our special subject. - -It was soon found that the new relations of the Church of England to the -patriarchal authority of the See of Rome, which had been a consequence of -the Norman Conquest, had opened the door to a flood of evils which had not -been foreseen. We can only enumerate them without going into their -history. - - * * * * * - -The claim of the popes to present to all ecclesiastical benefices was -opposed by the king with respect to the rights of the Crown to the -nomination to bishoprics and abbacies, and on the part of the nobles and -gentry with respect to their patronage; but by partial encroachments the -popes did in fact, from time to time, nominate to many bishoprics, and -dignities, and to a considerable number of parochial benefices. Curiously -enough, the most important of these invasions of the rights of others are -the most capable of extenuation. The kings, as we shall presently have -occasion to say, at length used their power of practical nomination to -bishoprics, not to give the Church the best Churchmen as bishops, but to -pay for the services of their ministers of State with the rank and -revenues of bishoprics. Their nomination at all was an infringement of the -constitutional liberties of the Church, and their use of their power of -practical nomination in this way was a grievous wrong. In the reigns of -John and Henry III., when the popes took upon themselves to nominate to -sees, they were careful to select Churchmen of learning and character, who -contrasted favourably in the eyes of the nation with the king's nominees -thus superseded. In the reign of Edward I., the king and the pope played -into one another's hands, the king did not oppose the Papal nomination, -but the pope readily nominated men whom the king recommended. Later kings -successfully maintained their right of nomination against the popes, but -the pious and feeble Henry VI. again yielded to papal encroachments. - -The _intrusion_ by the pope _of foreigners_, chiefly Italians, into -English benefices was a great practical grievance while it lasted, _i.e._ -during part of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Bishop Grostete -estimated that the revenues of the alien clerks, whom Innocent IV. had -planted in England, equalled seventy thousand marks, while the king's -revenue was not more than a third of that sum. This abuse was so unpopular -that it provoked a serious resistance. About 1230, a secret association, -countenanced, it was said, by men of position, wrote to bishops and -chapters, warning them not to encourage these encroachments, and to the -monks, who farmed the benefices of the aliens, not to pay them their rent. -The tithe barns of the alien rectors were plundered, and the contents sold -or given to the poor, and some of the men themselves were seized and put -to ransom. In the reign of Richard II. (1379), an Act of Parliament -forbade any to farm the benefice of an alien, or to send money out of the -realm for such farm, under the penalties of the Statute of Provisors. But -the evil was checked by the Acts of Provisors (1350) and Premunire (1353), -and these encroachments of the Roman See were extinguished by the end of -the fourteenth century. - - * * * * * - -A great grievance inflicted by the Crown upon the Church was _the use of -Church patronage_ for the payment of the political, diplomatic, judicial, -and other officers of the civil administration. The result was that a -large number of the greatest offices of the Church were served by deputy; -the details of diocesan work were done by suffragans, archdeacons -performed their duties by officials, rectors by parish chaplains. It was -inevitable that the work should be imperfectly done; rank and wealth are -attached to Church benefices in order to enhance the dignity and influence -of the holders and their power of fulfilling the duties of their office, -and a _locum tenens_, though he were intrinsically as able a man, can -never fulfil the place or do the work of the real holder of the office. - -It was Henry II. who adopted it as a normal practice, and not without -protest. When this king asked Bishop St. Hugh of Lincoln for a prebend for -one of his courtiers, the bishop replied: "Ecclesiastical benefices are -not for courtiers, but for ecclesiastics. Those who hold them must serve -not the palace or the treasury, but the altar. The king has wherewithal to -compensate those who work for him and fight his battles. Let him allow -those who serve the King of kings to enjoy their fitting remuneration, and -not to be deprived of it." When King Richard, through the Archbishop of -Canterbury, desired Bishop Hugh to send him a list of twelve of his canons -to be employed in his affairs, Hugh replied that "he had often prohibited -his clerks from intermeddling in secular affairs, and he certainly was not -going to encourage such a thing now. It was quite enough to have -archbishops forgetting their sacred calling." All the canons had not the -courage of their bishop, or were ambitious of court appointments, for some -of them went off to the king at Fontevrault without the bishop's leave; -but all were relieved from their difficulty by the king's death.[332] - - * * * * * - -A kindred evil was that of _pluralities_, since the holder of several -benefices must needs put a _locum tenens_ into all of them save one, with -the disadvantages just mentioned. John Mansel, Henry III.'s chancellor, is -said by Matthew Paris to have held the revenues of seven hundred -benefices, amounting to four thousand marks. - -The popes in the thirteenth century exerted their authority to put an end -to the abuse, but met with a strenuous resistance. At the Council of -London, 1237, under Otho, when the Canon against pluralists of the recent -Lateran Council was proposed to be adopted, Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of -Worcester, warned the Legate that the attempt to impose it on the English -clergy would be resisted by force by the young men who were bold and -daring, and not without the approbation of some of their elders;[333] and -the question was postponed. But the popes exercised pressure by refusing -to confirm the elections to bishoprics of men who were pluralists, and the -Archbishops[334] gave their authority to the cause of reform. In time the -evil was lessened; there were fewer benefices held in plurality, and those -who held them were required to obtain a dispensation, and to provide in -the benefices on which they did not reside proper substitutes with a -sufficient provision for themselves, and for the hospitalities and -charities of the benefices. - -We have had occasion to make several allusions to the _farming of -benefices_; this was another abuse which may require a few words of -explanation. The incumbent for a definite annual payment put the -emoluments of his benefice into the hands of another to make what he could -out of it. The monks at one time were great farmers of benefices. The evil -of it was that the farmer, having no responsibility towards or interest in -the people, was tempted to be strict in exacting his dues, and deaf to -claims of charity. For example, in 1532 the Convent of Merton granted a -lease of the rectory of Kingston-on-Thames with all the profits and the -presentation to the vicarage for twenty-one years.[335] - -A danger connected with this farming of benefices for a long term of -years, which is not apparent at first sight, is indicated in the following -instance. In 1267, Bishop Richard of Gravesend made Dunstable Priory give -up the Church of Lidlington; they had farmed it from an absentee rector, -and on his death they seem to have assumed the rectorial rights.[336] - - * * * * * - -Among the greatest and most widespread abuses, was that of admitting to -benefices men who were not qualified to fulfil the duties of the office. -This was the case more or less with ecclesiastical benefices from -bishoprics downwards; but it was specially the case with rectories. - -This abuse, of course, arose from the fact that in the majority of cases -the patronage of the rectory was in the hands of the lord of the manor, -the descendant, or at least the representative, of the original donor of -the benefice, and was usually regarded as a natural provision for one of -the younger sons of the family. It was, perhaps, not in theory so bad an -arrangement as some people think it. In those feudal times the lord of the -manor was the petty king of all the people, and if one of his sons had the -personal qualifications, perhaps no other priest could fulfil the duties -of rector of the parish with equal advantages. The relations of squire and -parson in a country village are a little difficult, and a son of the -ruling family could exercise an influence in the parish which a stranger -could not; he could mediate between the lord and the people with greater -influence on both sides than a stranger; and the people would generally -pay a loyal regard to him which they would not to any other priest. - -The great abuse was that so many of these rectors remained in minor -orders, exercising perhaps a good influence, fulfilling the hospitalities -and charities of their office, but leaving its spiritual duties to be -performed by a parish chaplain. This did not seem so objectionable to them -as it does to us, because they were under the influence of the feudal -ideas, which tended to make all offices hereditary, and to consider that -the holders of office did all that was required of them if they provided -that the duties of the office were satisfactorily performed by -subordinates. - -The law made a man who had received the lowest of the minor orders capable -of holding a benefice;[337] the bishops, therefore, could not refuse the -patron's nomination in such cases, and the bishops' registers contain -records of the institution of young men, who were sometimes only acolytes, -or even clerks; they had to do the best they could for the well-being of -both the young rectors and their parishes, with some consideration for the -rights of patrons and the opinion of the age. In very many cases the newly -instituted rector received at once a licence of non-residence for a year, -that he might study, generally, or in Oxford or Paris specifically. The -leave of non-residence is sometimes extended to two or three years, or -renewed from time to time. Sometimes it is stipulated that the rector -shall take orders as sub-deacon within the year, or that he shall pass -through all the orders up to priest's within the time of non-residence -allowed. There is frequently further licence given to put the benefice to -farm, with a stipulation for a donation to the poor of the parish, or the -fabric of the church, or the like.[338] - -William, the son of Gilbert FitzStephen, presented to the parish of -Kentisbury, was refused by Bishop Stapledon on the ground that he was too -illiterate for such a charge. The influence of powerful friends was -brought to bear upon the bishop, and he conceded thus far--that the young -man should go to school (_scolas grammaticales_), and if, after awhile, he -could admit him with a good conscience, he would do so, and would not, in -the mean time, take advantage of the law which made the nomination lapse -to himself at the end of six months. But it does not appear in the -Register that William FitzStephen was ever instituted; and the institution -of John de Wyke, priest, in the following year, by the patron, indicates -that the illiterate young man abandoned the idea of becoming Rector of -Kentisbury, and perhaps did service, such as he was qualified to perform -satisfactorily, under his father's banner in the field. Sometimes the -bishop dealt with a case more peremptorily. Bishop Grostete refused a -presentee whom he described as "a boy still in his Ovid." The same bishop -refused to admit to a benefice a man presented by the Chancellor of York, -on the ground that he was almost illiterate; and sends the young man's -examination papers that the chancellor may judge for himself. He refused -to institute W. de Grana on the presentation of W. Raleigh, the treasurer -of Exeter, because of his youth and ignorance; but that Raleigh may not -think him ungrateful, he promises to give his nominee a pension of ten -marks a year till he gets a better benefice. In answer to a request of the -Legate Otho to institute Thomas, a son of Earl Ferrers, to a benefice, he -begs to be excused; but if the matter is pressed, he begs that a vicar may -be appointed to the parish, and that Thomas may have some provision out of -the living without cure of souls.[339] In 1530, Bishop Holbeach of Lincoln -rejected a Canon of Ronton nominated to the Vicarage of Seighford as -_indoctus et indignus_. Richard Swinfield, Bishop of Hereford (1283-1316), -refused to institute a boy of sixteen, of the name of Baskerville, to the -Vicarage of Weobley, on the presentation of the Prior and Canons of -Llanthony, though pressed by a powerful relative of the boy. - - In 1283, in the time of Bishop Quivil of Exeter, Barthol le Seneschal, - who had been presented to the Rectory of St. Erme, was found to be not - in Holy Orders, and not old enough to be ordained; but both - difficulties were evaded, for, though not at once instituted as - rector, "the sequestration and custody of the church were committed to - him," and so he was enabled to act as rector in the management of - affairs, and to receive the income, and to appoint a vicar or chaplain - to do the spiritual work of the parish.[340] - - Robert de Umfrenville, clerk, was instituted in 1317 by Bishop - Stapledon of Exeter, on the presentation of Henry de Umfrenville--very - likely his father--to the rectory of Lapford; but the bishop required, - under a penalty of a hundred shillings, that he should go to Grammar - School, and should come to the bishop at least once a-year, that the - bishop might know what progress he was making. The young man would - seem not to have given himself to study, and, at the end of three - years, to have found the position untenable, for he sent in his - resignation by letter, dated June, 1320. - - In 1317, a rector of Bath and Wells diocese, on his institution, was - bidden to keep a good chaplain to teach him, since he was but - indifferently learned. As he was the presentee of the king, the bishop - had special inducement to be lenient.[341] - -But the refusals of the bishops to admit men in minor orders were very -exceptional. A large proportion of the rectories were occupied by such -men. The canons of the diocesan synods show that the ecclesiastical -authorities were continually urging them to proceed to priest's orders; -but the bishops had no power to compel them to do so;[342] and the -parochial lists of incumbents bear witness that some of the rectories were -occupied by men in minor orders in almost unbroken succession. - -Another kindred evil was that of simple _absenteeism_, not because the -rector was engaged in other occupations elsewhere, or that he was a -pluralist, and could not be everywhere, but simply because he preferred to -be somewhere else than in his parish. He put his benefice to farm, -appointed a parish chaplain, and departed. He needed a licence of -non-residence, if absent for any lengthy period. We have glimpses of the -reasons for which licences of non-residence were sometimes given. The -commonest is for leisure to attend schools, which we shall have to speak -of at length presently. Another reason is that the licensee may go on -pilgrimage; for example, in 1225, Archbishop Gray gives a licence to -Godfred, vicar of St. Felix, who has taken the cross, to put his benefice -to farm for three years during his visit to the Holy Land. Bishop -Grandisson of Exeter gives a licence of non-residence to Sir Ralph -Kerneyke, Rector of St. Erme, till 2 February 1331-2, to visit the -thresholds of St. James in Galicia and the Court of Rome, and then without -any delay to return to his church. In 1329, Ady de Tavistock, Rector of -St. Gerundus, Cornwall, had a licence to make a pilgrimage to Rome;[343] -and similar cases occur in other bishops' registers. Frequently the -absence is said to be granted at the request of so-and-so,[344] very -likely the patron of the parish, who thus confirms the reasons which the -incumbent has alleged, and signifies his consent to his parson's absence. -The patron had sometimes a personal reason for his action in the -matter.[345] For example, Gerard Myghell (or Mychell), Rector of Theydon -Garnon, Essex, in 1507 put his rectory to farm for three years to Sir -William Hyll, chaplain, and Francis Hamden, esquire, in order to become -tutor to John Hamden during his travels on the Continent of Europe. It -appears that Francis Hamden was the squire of the parish, and John was his -son, and probably Sir William Hyll, chaplain, was the priest who was to -take charge of the parish during the rector's absence, which seems a very -good choice of trustees. The rector lets to farm, all his church and -parsonage with all manor of tithes, fruits, profits, rights, commodities, -and emoluments, whatsoever, with all the lands, pastures, leases, for L8 a -year; but he reserves all the whole "lochynge" [lodging] at the gate (of -the churchyard), viz. a parlour with a chimney and a larder at the end of -the said parlour, and two chambers over a study, and a wyddraughte [? -drain], perhaps to lodge his old housekeeper in during his absence. There -is still an ancient house in the churchyard which may possibly be the -lodging here mentioned. There is a letter from the rector, from Rouen, -relating how he and his pupil are getting on, and very naturally asking -for supplies of money and clothing. - - * * * * * - -We had occasion to deal with the subject of _slavery_ in the Saxon period, -concluding with the estimate of Sharon Turner,[346] that, of the -population of England at the end of that time, as calculated from Domesday -Book, three-quarters of the population of two millions were in a state of -slavery. - -We may introduce here the statement that, although the Church all along -the ages used its influence in favour of the just treatment of the serf -population, in the spirit of St. Paul; and encouraged manumission, and set -the example; and freely gave dispensations to sons of serfs to enter into -Holy Orders and hold church benefices; yet the status of serfage was -suffered to continue among the tenants of the Church after it had almost -disappeared elsewhere.[347] - -We add a few notes on the subject in mediaeval times. Here is one which -tells us the value of a serf. Gregory, Abbot of Whalley, in 1309, sells -his _nativus, cum tota sequela sua, et omnibus rebus suis habitis et -habendis_, for 100_s._ sterling.[348] - -In the Register of Walter Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, is an entry under -date 1315-- - - Be it known to all present and future, that we, Walter, etc., have - given and granted "Magistro de la Gale, clerico, Richardum de la Gale, - filium Edwardi de la Gale, nativum nostrum, cum tota sequela sua et - omnibus catallis suis," so that neither we nor our successors may be - able to make any claim for service from the said Richard. - -It seems to be the case of granting to a clerk the freedom of a relative -who was a _nativus_ (serf). - -So late as 1536, the Registers of Chichester supply an example of -manumission by Bishop Sherburne. The deed of manumission begins, as is -usual in deeds of manumission of that time, with a quotation from the -Institutes of Justinian, "Whereas at the beginning nature brought forth -all men free, and afterwards the law of nations placed certain of them -under the yoke of servitude; we believe that it is pious and meritorious -towards God to manumit them, and restore them to the benefit of pristine -liberty;" therefore the bishop emancipates Nicholas Holden, a "native and -serf," who for many years had served him on his manor of Woodmancote and -elsewhere, from every chain, servitude, and servile condition by which he -was bound to the bishop and his cathedral, and, so far as he can, to make -him a free man. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE CATHEDRAL. - - -In order to give a complete view of the position and work of the parochial -clergy in town and country, it is necessary to indicate, however briefly, -both their connection with the cathedral and their relations with the -monasteries. In this chapter we attempt the former subject; the latter in -a following chapter. - -We must glance back at our history and recall the time when the cathedral -was the mother church of the diocese, and the bishop and his clergy lived -together as one family. Some of them remained always at head-quarters to -keep up the Divine service with as full a choir as their circumstances -permitted, and to carry on the schools, which formed so important a branch -of their work of Christian civilization; while others were itinerating -hither and thither through the diocese preaching the gospel to the people. -Then, we remember, came the gradual organization of the parochial system, -by which the great majority of the clergy were scattered over the -diocese, each residing permanently in his own rectory-house, and -ministering constantly to his own people. - -[Illustration: CONFESSION IN LENT. LATE XV. CENT. MS., 25698, f. 9.] - -The bishop, however, still retained a strong staff about him at the -cathedral, for the honour of the Divine service and for general diocesan -work; and the old tradition of an ascetic common life would naturally be -maintained there, when it was no longer practicable in the scattered -rectories. This staff would need organization. One man would be put in -general command during the absences of the bishop on his visitations of -the diocese; another would be in permanent charge of the schools; another -would have special charge of the services; another would be the treasurer -of the bishop's common fund; and thus naturally arose the four dignities -of all the old cathedrals--the dean, the chancellor, the precentor, and -the treasurer. Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz, the great chancellor of Charles -Martel, organized the clergy of his cathedral into a community, adapting -the rule of St. Benedict (which was then being pressed upon all the -monasteries) to the circumstances of a body of secular clergy. After the -Norman Conquest some of our bishops attempted to introduce the same -organization into England, at Exeter, and Wells, and, with some -modifications, at York; but the innovation did not flourish here. - -The development of a more settled constitution of our English cathedral -bodies of secular canons took the course of giving the cathedral clergy a -more independent corporate life. The first great step towards it was the -division of the common property into two portions, one at the disposal of -the bishop, the other the endowment of the chapter. The property allotted -to the canons was then subdivided, estates being attached to the four -great dignities; and, lastly, distinct endowments, called prebends, were -assigned to the individual members of the general corporate body; still -retaining a common dean and chapter fund divisible annually among the -canons, or some of them. The concession to the chapter of the privilege of -electing its own dean, completed the work, and made the dean and chapter -an independent ecclesiastical corporation. The chapter thus definitely -constituted soon acquired new rights and privileges. Already in the eighth -century they had obtained the right of being the bishop's council; then -they gained the right, to the exclusion of the rest of the clergy, of -electing the bishop; then, that of representing the bishop's authority -during a vacancy. Lastly, the dean, originally intended to represent the -bishop during his absence, asserted his independence of the bishop as -ruler of the chapter; and it cost Grostete, Bishop of Lincoln, a long and -bitter contest to establish his right to "visit" the chapter of his -cathedral, a contest in which he said that he was contending for the -dropped rights of all the bishops of England. - -We have been speaking of the cathedrals which were served by bodies of -secular clergy. But some of the cathedral bodies had adopted the -Benedictine rule, and were monasteries in which the bishop occupied in -some respects, the place of abbot, but the prior was the actual ruler. -These were Canterbury, Durham, Norwich, Rochester, Winchester, and -Worcester, and the two post-Norman sees, one placed in the great -Benedictine House of Ely, the other in the House of Austin Canons at -Carlisle. - -The bishops soon found it desirable to secure the services of one or more -archdeacons to help them in maintaining an oversight of their scattered -clergy; soon after the Conquest, the archdeacons had their courts of -jurisdiction, in which most of the minor cases of ecclesiastical -discipline were dealt with. - -The practical oversight of the parochial clergy was maintained partly by -synods, partly by visitations. The bishop held an annual synod, to which -all the clergy of the diocese were bound to come in person or by proxy. -The bishop also went the round of his diocese at intervals, usually of -three years. He could not visit every parish, but the clergy met him at -several convenient centres, with some of their chief parishioners, and the -synodsmen gave in written replies to a set of questions--with which we -have already dealt--which constituted a very searching--not to say -inquisitorial--scrutiny into the life and conduct not only of the clergy, -but of the laity also. - - A Constitution of Archbishop Boniface, 1260, directed every bishop to - have in his diocese one or two prisons for confining clerics - flagitious in crime, or convicted by canonical censure, and "we decree - that any cleric who shall be incorrigible in his wickedness and - habituated to committing crime to such a degree that if he were a - layman he would, according to the secular law, suffer the extreme - penalty, such cleric shall be adjudged to perpetual imprisonment." - -The archdeacons held their visitations, making inquiry specially into the -state of the fabrics and furniture of the churches and parsonage houses; -the rural deans also played a minor part in extending this oversight into -every corner of the land. - -After this general introduction, it will best serve our purpose of giving -a popular idea of the part which a cathedral took in the religious life of -the clergy and people, to select an individual example, and treat it a -little more in detail. - - * * * * * - -When Remigius, anticipating the policy of the Council of London, -transferred his see from Sidnacester (Stowe) to Lincoln, he found the -king's new castle already occupying the south-west quarter of the area -within the Roman walls of the old Colonia; and purchased the south-east -quarter for the site of his new cathedral; a wide open space only -separated the castle-gate from the humbler gate of the cathedral close. -The old inhabitants, reinforced by the new military and ecclesiastical -populations, found the northern half of the city too strait for them, and -a new walled town sprang up at the foot of the hill, and soon stretched -out a long, narrow suburb southward, along the high-road, defended by -parallel dykes. The situation was a fine one. The long tableland to the -north here falls steeply to the level of the river Witham, and overlooks -another long level stretching southward. From the north, the castle keep -and the minster towers (when they were built) could be seen from every -yard of the twelve miles of perfectly straight Roman road which ran -northwards towards the Humber. Seen from the south, the view of the city -was a glorious one. The new buildings of the castle and minster extended -in a long line on the brow of the hill; an irregular line of steep street -connected the old city with the new town at its feet; the river, enlarged -and made navigable by the Romans, protected the approach from the south, -and wound through low ground past the monastery of Bardney, and, in later -days, the castle and collegiate church of Tatteshall, to the port of -Boston at its embouchere. Durham only of English cathedrals occupies so -advantageous a site, and, together with its palatine castle, presents as -noble an architectural effect. The church grew century after century, -after the manner of cathedrals. A portion of the west front of Remigius -still remains surrounded by the later work of Alexander; St. Hugh of -Avalon added the magnificent choir; Grostete added the central tower and -the parts adjacent; and so at last the Church attained the magnificent -proportions which still excite our admiration. The bishop's palace was -built on a levelled space of the hillside south of the cathedral; the -ruins of the "early English" halls and towers founded by St. Hugh, -finished by Hugh of Wells, and the chapel added by Alnwick, still remain; -and the pleasant hanging gardens above and below the buildings. The -cathedral close was inclosed[349] by a wall, and its entrances at the -north-east, south-east, and west were defended by gates; the "exchequer -gate" at the west had a gate-house with a large chamber in the upper -story. The principal residentiary buildings of a monastery were grouped in -a customary order round the cloister court; but the houses of the -dignitaries of a cathedral were arranged as convenience suggested. The -deanery[350] stands north, and the sub-deanery south of the church; on -the east side of the close still remain two old stone houses with -picturesque oriels, which were--and are--the official residences of the -chancellor and the precentor; the chancery has a private chapel in it. - -[Illustration: Lincoln, from the Fens.] - -In the fourteenth century it became the custom, for their greater -convenience and better discipline, to incorporate the[351] vicars choral, -and to place them in a court of their own. The vicar's court remains at -Wells, Hereford, Chichester, and York. That at Wells, for fourteen -priests, is a long inclosure with a row of seven small stone houses on -each side, a chapel, with a library over it at the further end, and a hall -over the entrance gate, from which there is a picturesque covered way over -the public road into the north transept of the church, by which the vicars -could go in comfort to their daily duties--like the pope's covered way -from the Vatican to the Castle of St. Angelo. There are only some remains -of the vicar's court at Lincoln, on the east side of the palace grounds, -the old Roman wall dividing them. Every cathedral had a number of -chantries, one of the very earliest was that to Bishop Hugh of Wells, in -this cathedral. The Burghersh chantry, founded by Bartholomew Burghersh, -had five priests, who, with the six choristers and their schoolmaster, -formed a corporate body, and all lived together in the chantry-house, -which still remains in very perfect condition on the south side of the -close. Among the interesting features of Lincoln, the treasurer had charge -of a dispensary, which contained his stock of medicines; walls of an -apartment in the cathedral are still surrounded by the niches.[352] - -The chapter-house of a cathedral, served by seculars, was a very important -feature. In monasteries it was always quadrangular, but in secular -cathedrals, for some unknown reason, it was always polygonal.[353] It had -always a central pillar, from which the groining spread on all sides, like -the leaves of a palm-tree; externally it was covered with a tall conical -roof. Here the dean and chapter met for the transaction of their capitular -affairs, and here the bishop held his synods. - -The _camera communis_ (common room) of the canons intervened between the -north transept and the chapter-house; over the vestibule was the office of -the master of the works. Near by, north-east of the chapter-house, is a -well, covered with a little stone octagonal building with conical roof. -When we call to mind that there are wells within several cathedral -churches--at York, in which King Edwin was baptized by Paulinus, at -Winchester, and elsewhere--we are led to conjecture that the water of -these wells may have been used for various ritual purposes. - -The date of the incorporation of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln is 1086, -and the bishop gave it statutes which seem to have been derived from -Rouen.[354] The historian, Henry of Huntingdon, gives a charming -description of the members of the original chapter, who were personally -known to him, for he was the son of one of them.[355] - - "Ralph the Dean, a venerable priest. Rayner the Treasurer, full of - religion, had prepared a tomb against the day of his death, and oft - sate by it singing of psalms and praying long whiles, to use himself - to his eternal home. Hugh the Chancellor, worthy of all memory, the - mainstay and, as it were, the foundation of the Church. Osbert, - Archdeacon of Bedford, afterward Chancellor, a man wholly sweet and - loveable. William, a young Canon of great genius. Albin (my own tutor) - and Albin's brothers, most honourable men, my dearest friends, men of - profoundest science, brightest purity, utter innocence, and yet by - God's inscrutable judgement they were smitten with leprosy; but death - hath made them clean. Nicolas, Archdeacon of Cambridge, Huntingdon, - and Hertford--none more beautiful in person, in character beautiful no - less, 'Stella Cleri,' so styled in his Epitaph [Henry's father]. - Walter, prince of orators. Gislebert, elegant in prose, in verse, in - dress. With many other honoured names with which I may not tax your - patience."[356] - -One of the reasons which Bishop Alnwick gave for assigning large salaries -to the holders of stalls was the way in which they "devote themselves to -the public service, in self-imposed tasks over and above their daily -expositions and constant toils and numerous burdens."[357] - - * * * * * - -With the help of the "Valor Ecclesiasticus" of Henry VIII., we are able to -people the cathedral, and palace, and residentiary houses, and vicar's -court, and chantries, with the men who lived and served there at the time -of the Reformation, and even to pry into their account-books and tell -their several incomes, to the third part of a farthing. - -The Right Rev. John Longland,[358] who was the bishop in those troublous -times, lived in St. Hugh's stately halls and towers on the sunny slope -under the shelter of the minster; and to maintain his dignity, and -household, and hospitalities, and various expenses, the annual value of -"all the domains, manors, castles, parks, rectories, lands, tenements, and -other temporal possessions," of this see was LMccclxxviij, viij, vq', -_i.e._ to say, L1378 8_s._ 5-1/4_d._; and "all the spiritualities of the -said Lord John" amounted, one year with another, to Diiij{xx}iiij, viij, -xjq', _i.e._ L584 8_s._ 11-1/4_d._; making together an income of -mdcccclxij, xvij, iiijob, or L1962 17_s._ 4-1/2_d._, equivalent in our -money to about L23,554 8_s._ 6_d._[359] - -If the reader does not know what the "spiritualities" here mentioned are, -he is not more ignorant than some great statesmen have been. For, on one -occasion, the late Earl Russell asserted that the bishops received their -spiritual authority from the Crown, on the ground that by one of the -documents issued from a Crown office to a newly-elected bishop, restored -the "spiritualities" as well as the "temporalities" to the new occupant of -the see. The "Valor" tells us of what these spiritualities consisted: -Portions and pensions from benefices, fees for procurations and synodals, -institutions and inductions, faculties, probate of wills, and such-like. -Temporalities, in short, are real property, and spiritualities are fees -and perquisites. - -The dean and chapter had, as a common fund, the profits of twenty -appropriate rectories; and from these and other sources they derived an -annual income; for part of which they were only trustees, and had to pay -out of it for the maintenance of the choristers, and the stipends of -various chantry priests and others; leaving a balance of LDvj xiij iiij -ob'q di q', which means L506 13_s._ 4-1/2_d._ 1/4 and half 1/4. This -balance was divided among the six residentiary canons, making L83 11_s._ -1_d._ to each, with a remainder of ij ob' di'q', or 2-1/2_d._ and half a -farthing. The residentiary canons in question were the dignitaries, Mr. -George Hennage, the Dean; James Mallet, the precentor; Christopher -Massingberd, the chancellor; John Pryn, the sub-dean; and the others -were, John Talbot[360] and Simon Green, _alias_ Foderby. - -The dean and chapter were also trustees of a fabric fund derived from land -and rents; out of which they had first to pay the stipends of several -chantry priests, three and a chapel clerk serving the altar of the Blessed -Virgin Mary, and one each at the Welburn and Crosby Chantries; then they -had to pay certain workmen constantly retained, a carpenter, -"lathonius,"[361] plumber, glazier, smith, cleaner of brass vessels and -candelabra, surveyor of the fabric, organist[362] at the mass of the -Blessed Virgin Mary, and lastly the bailiff of lands and tenements. The -balance after these payments was L575 7_s._ 2-1/2_d._ 1/4 and half 1/4; -and this balance was divided among the six residentiary canons aforesaid, -giving L95 17_s._ 10-1/2_d._ to each; it must be borne in mind that they -were liable for occasional heavy expenditure on the repairs of fabric, -which had to come out of their purses. Each dignity had its own special -endowments; the separate estates of the deanery[363] produced an income of -L196 10_s._ 8_d._; of the precentory L8 2_s._ 4_d._, of the chancery L54 -1_s._ 5_d._, of the treasury L10 13_s._ 4_d._; of the sub-deanery L35 -8_s._ - -Then, again, every dignitary held a prebend of more or less value, which -shall be set forth presently in a general statement. - -A little research reveals the fact that each of the dignitaries also held -one or more parochial benefices; for example, Mr. George Hennage[364] was -Master of the Collegiate Church of Tatteshall; he was also Rector of -Gedney, Washingburghe, Howby, Benningworth, and Flyxburgh. - -The precentor also held the Rectory of Longleddenham. The chancellor was -also Vicar of Byker, Rector of Highkame, and Rector of Foletby. Mr. Pryn, -the sub-dean, seems to have held nothing besides his dignity and his -prebendal stall, except the Singing Schools (under the precentor). There -were Prebendal Schools under the oversight of the prebendaries themselves, -and others "which are maintained by local managers for the instruction of -their parishioners in faith and letters." - -It may seem a little invidious, perhaps, to add these several sums -together and bring out the totals; but it is a part of the work which we -have undertaken, and we do not feel at liberty to decline it; it will, at -least, remind us that we have in modern times made some economic changes -in the administration of cathedral affairs; not altogether satisfactory -ones, for, with the usual want of moderation in the minds of reformers, -instead of judicious pruning, the cruel knife has left little beyond a -bare stem. - -To sum up, then-- - - Mr. George Hennage, the dean, had L196 10_s._ 8_d._ of his deanery; - L83 11_s._ 1_d._ of the Dean and Chapter Fund; L95 17_s._ 10_d._ of - the Fabric Fund; L42 7_s._ 4_d._ of his Prebend of Biggleswade;[365] - L20 as Master of Tatteshall College;[366] L23 11_s._ as Rector of - Gedney;[367] L27 3_s._ 4_d._ as Rector of Washingborough;[368] L22 - 8_s._ 5-1/4_d._ as Rector of Howby;[369] L23 8_s._ 6_d._ as Rector of - Benningworth;[370] and L13 10_s._ as Rector of Flyxboro';[371] making a - total of L548 8_s._ 3_d._ - - Mr. James Mallett, the precentor, had only L8 2_s._ 4_d._ of his - precentory; L83 11_s._ 1_d._ his share of the Dean and Chapter Fund; - L95 17_s._ 10_d._ of the Fabric Fund; he was Prebendary of - Empyngham,[372] which brought him L35 6_s._ 5_d._, and Rector of - Longleddenham,[373] L29 12_s._ 8_d._ Total, L252 10_s._ 4_d._ - - Mr. Christopher Massingberd, the chancellor, had L54 1_s._ 5_d._ of - his chancellorship; L83 11_s._ 1_d._ of the Dean and Chapter Fund; and - L95 17_s._ 10_d._ of the Fabric Fund; as Vicar of Byker,[374] L15; as - Rector of High Kame,[375] L19 16_s._ 2_d._; as Rector of Foletby,[376] - L21 2_s._ 8_d._ Total, L289 9_s._ 2_d._ - - The treasurership, vacant at that moment, was worth L10 13_s._ 4_d._; - with L83 11_s._ 1_d._ of the Dean and Chapter Fund, and L95 17_s._ - 10_d._ of the Fabric Fund. Total, L190 2_s._ 3_d._ - - Mr. John Pryn, the sub-dean, had L35 8_s._ of his dignity; L83 11_s._ - 1_d._ of the Dean and Chapter Fund; L95 17_s._ 10_d._ of the Fabric - Fund; and of his Prebend of Keton,[377] L29 10_s._ 2_d._ Total, L244 - 7_s._ 1_d._ - -It must be borne in mind that these were great dignitaries of one of the -greatest and wealthiest dioceses, and had to maintain a certain degree of -state in their household and expenditure. Each dignitary had also to find -at his own cost everything which belonged to his office; the precentor -everything which belonged to Divine services, vestments, service books, -etc. The chancellor had to maintain the divinity school of the -cathedral--at one time a very famous one, the cathedral grammar school, -and was responsible for all the schools in the city and county. - -Should any reader have recognized among these dignitaries of Lincoln -Cathedral the names of well-known families of the diocese, he must not be -satisfied with a passing thought on the effect of family influence in the -distribution of Church patronage, which may be true enough; he must add -the reflection that in those times it was thought fitting not only to give -the grandest architecture, the most costly material, and the best art to -the material church, but also to dedicate the best blood of the people to -its ministry; much as in old times the greatest and proudest nobles held -domestic offices--dapifer and the like--at the court of the king, and no -one who was not of gentle birth was thought worthy to attend him. - -We shall entirely fail to understand the whole spirit and meaning of a -mediaeval cathedral if we have not fully grasped the idea that it was not -intended to be merely a centre of busy diocesan work; the magnificent -building and its sumptuous furniture, the numerous and complex -organization of its staff of ministers richly endowed, were all directed -to the honour and worship of Almighty God. It was the embodiment in this -dispensation of the ideal of worship which God Himself sanctioned in the -old dispensation, when His Temple at Jerusalem was "exceeding -magnifical,"[378] and the high priest wore jewels of untold price on his -mystic breastplate, and a whole tribe--a twelfth of the people--were set -apart for the ministry, and the well-endowed priests came up in the turn -of their twenty-four courses to the honour of officiating for a fortnight -in a year before the Presence in the Holy of Holies. - -There were fifty-two prebendaries, whose canopied oak stalls form the most -striking feature of the choir of the cathedral. A prebend was sometimes a -manor, more frequently a rectory, rarely a sum of money, which formed an -endowment for a canon.[379] For the most part the prebendaries were -supposed to reside upon their prebends, to maintain Divine service, and a -school, and hospitality there. Every prebendary was required to maintain a -vicar choral at the cathedral; he himself came into residence for one -week in the year, and during that week took the principal position in the -cathedral services. On his Sunday of duty he was expected to entertain -nineteen of the under officers at dinner, and to receive others at -different meals during the week. The dean was required about thirty times -a year to give an "honorificus pastus" to all the choir and vicars, "to -make life and work more pleasant to them."[380] One fact is enough to show -that the prebendaries of Lincoln were a very distinguished body of -men:--of the fifty-two stalls, all but one--some of them more than -once--has given a bishop to Lincoln, and from among them every English see -has been filled, and many of them twice. - -One of the statutory duties of the prebendaries is very little known, and -is so curious and interesting as to deserve mention here, even though it -requires a few words of preface to make the spirit of it quite -intelligible. Among other remarkable designs which entered into pious -minds in those mediaeval communities was that of maintaining a ceaseless -service of praise--_laus perennis_--or a daily recitation of the whole -Psalter. The former was a conventual devotion, and was done in this way: -there were always two priests before the altar, night and day, relieved at -regular intervals, singing the Psalms. The latter was a cathedral -devotion, where it was a rule that the dean and prebendaries as a body -should say the whole Psalter every day to the glory of God. The same -devotion was maintained at Salisbury, Wells, and St. Paul's. The task was -not a hard one, for the Psalter was divided among them; one prebend said -the first, second, third, fourth Psalms, another the fifth, sixth, -seventh, and so on; the 119th Psalm was divided between several of them; -each made it a matter of conscience to say the Psalms allotted to him; and -thus, from the time of Bishop St. Hugh, the prebendaries of Lincoln, -wherever they were scattered, were brought together in spirit by this -interesting observance, and said the whole Psalter daily to the glory of -God. It will perhaps surprise some of our readers to learn that they keep -up the observance to this day.[381] - - We shall not trouble the reader with more than a few notes on the - value of the fifty-two prebends. Some of them were very valuable, - _e.g._ Leighton Manor, Leighton Buzzard, Cropredy, and Sutton, each - brought in to their fortunate holders L40, but the majority were - between L5 and L10. There are several noticeable ones--the Prebend - Sexaginta Solidorum, and the Prebend Centum Solidorum, and the Prebend - Decem Librarum, _i.e._ the prebends of Sixty Shillings, a Hundred - Shillings, and Ten Pounds. The custos of St. Peter's altar received - for commons and wine[382] as a canon L20 a year. - -Some of these prebends, as we have seen, were held by the dignitaries; -some, as we shall presently see, by the archdeacons. Some of them afforded -a comfortable maintenance alone. It is to be hoped that the holders of -others--especially of one whose value is returned as "nihil"--had other -benefices to help out their incomes. They were not by any means all given -to priests in the diocese. A prebend was a very comfortable benefice, -which might be held by anybody, and they were given to all sorts of -people; _e.g._ two of them seem to have been held by the Dean and -Precentor of Chichester.[383] - - * * * * * - -To assist the bishop in the spiritual oversight of this vast diocese, -which embraced 8 counties, and extended from the Humber to the Thames, the -bishop had 8 archdeacons, whose incomes and the sources of them are -reported in the "Valor."[384] - - The Archdeacon of Lincoln received for procurations, L171 17_s._ - 10_d._, for synodals at Pentecost, L29 14_s._ 3_d._, and at - Michaelmas, L16 14_s._ 3_d._, and pensions, L5 17_s._, making a total - of L234 2_s._ 4_d._ But out of that he had to pay the Prebendary of - Ten Pounds L10, and 50_s._ to the Prebendary of Carleton, to his - Receiver-General L8 13_s._ 4_d._, and 58_s._ to the three vergers of - the Cathedral, leaving him a net income from this source of L179 - 19_s._ Archdeacon Richard Pate was also Prebendary of Sutton and - Buckingham, from which he received L110 3_s._ 6_d._; he was also - Rector of Kybworth, which was worth L39 14_s._ 11_d._; so that his - total income was L329 17_s._ 5_d._ - - The Archdeaconry of Stow was worth L24 2_s._ 8-1/2_d._, and Archdeacon - Darley does not appear to have held other preferment, at least in - Lincoln Diocese. - - The Archdeaconry of Huntingdon was worth L57 4_s._ 2_d._, and - Archdeacon Knight was also Prebendary of Farundon, worth L30 11_s._ - 2_d._ - - The Archdeaconry of Bedford was worth L57 2_s._ 3_d._, and Dr. Chamber - the Archdeacon was Prebendary of Leighton Buzzard, worth L40, Rector - of Leighton, worth L6 17_s._ 7-1/4_d._, and of Bowden Magna, worth L53 - 8_s._ 10-1/2_d._ - - The Archdeaconry of Leicester was worth L80 12_s._ 4_d._ Dr. Foxe[385] - was the archdeacon. - - The Archdeaconry of Northampton was worth L107 7_s._ Gilbert Smith, - the Archdeacon, was Prebendary of Leighton Bromeswold, worth L57 - 15_s._ 1_d._[386] - - The Archdeaconry of Buckingham was worth L82 14_s._ 5_d._, and Richard - Leighton the archdeacon seems to have had no other preferment in the - Diocese of Lincoln. - - The Archdeaconry of Oxford was worth L71 6_s._ Richard Coren, the - archdeacon, held also the Prebendary of Welton Paynshall, worth L5 - 11_s._ 11_d._ - -There were--or should have been--twenty-five _Vicars Choral_, who were -paid a stipend, each by his own Prebendary, of L2. The Corporate Body of -Vicars also had property which yielded a net annual income of L145 11_s._ -2_d._, which divided between the twenty-five vicars gave to each L5 16_s._ -5_d._, "leaving a remainder of 9_d._ to be divided into twenty-five -parts;" and fifteen of them had chantries assigned to them. - - * * * * * - -At the time of the "Taxatio" there appears to have been only one chantry -in the cathedral, for the soul of Bishop Hugh of Wells; by the time of -the "Valor" the chantries had grown in number to thirty-six. - - One vicar was cantarist of the Chantry of William Winchcome, which, - after giving 20_s._ to the poor and other payments, was worth L6 5_s._ - 4_d._ The same vicar received L2 for playing the organ at the Mass of - the Blessed Virgin Mary, and also L1 6_s._ 8_d._ for playing at the - Jesus Mass. Other vicars served the following chantries: of Hervey de - Luda, worth 9_s._ 4_d._; of Simon Barton, 9_s._; of William Thornake, - L4. 2_s._ 4_d._; of Henry Benyngworth, 8_s._ 8_d._; of Robert and John - Lacy, 8_s._; of William Hemyngburge and others, 8_s._; of William - FitzFulke, L4; of King Edward II., 12_s._, and the same clerk filled - the office of succentor, for which he received from the precentor - 50_s._, and 6_s._ 6_d._ for wines at the Feast of the Assumption of - the Blessed Virgin Mary, and from the Chapter, 7_s._ 6_d._; for wines - at the end of the year _p'pastu chori_, 18_s._ 9_d._; making L4 12_s._ - 9_d._ The cantarist of Roger Benetson received L5 12_s._; of Walter - Stanreth, L4; of Oliver Sutton, 8_s._; of Geoffrey Pollard and others, - 9_s._ 4_d._; of Gilbert Umfraville, L4 6_s._ 8_d._, the same clerk - occupied the office called Clerk of the Hospital, for which he - received from the Prior and Convent of St. Katharine juxta Lincoln, - 24_s._ 2_d._; and from the Chapter for a gown, 9_s._, and other sums - amounting to L1 14_s._ 10_d._; of Hugh of Wells, after paying for 2 - vicar chaplains, and to the vicars of the second form, and to the - servants of the Church, and in alms at the obit of the founder, - received L6, the same clerk filled the office of sacrist, for which he - received from the Treasurer and in perquisites, L6 17_s._ 6_d._ The 6 - clerks who said the daily mass at the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary - received each 13_s._ 5_d._ There were 4 vacancies in the body of - vicars choral, and the 4 shares were divided among the remaining 21 - vicars. - - Besides the chantries in the presentation of the dean and chapter, and - divided by them among the vicars choral, there were other chantries, - of which a separate account is given. Some of them with more than one - chaplain. The chantry of Nicholas de Cantelupe had 2 cantarists, who - received L19 10_s._ 2_d._ between them; that of Bishop Henry Lexington - had 2 cantarists, each of whom received 8_s._ 8_d._; 14 other - chantries were worth various sums, from 8_s._ 4_d._ to L13. The - chantry of Bartholomew Burghersh had 5 chaplains, who received L7 - 9_s._ 0-1/2-1/4_d._ each, it also maintained 6 poor boys and their - master at a cost of L12 7_s._ 4_d._ - -The choristers had a special fund in the trusteeship of the dean and -chapter, out of which were entirely maintained twelve boys and the master -who instructed them in singing, playing the organ, and grammar, at an -annual cost of L34 13_s._ 5-1/2_d._ - - * * * * * - -To these ministers of the church must be added a number of officials of -another kind, the bailiffs, receivers, and auditors of the various -properties; the inferior servants of the church; the constable of the -close; the porters of the gates of the close; the searchers of the church -or night watch, who had a timber chamber in the choir transept; and the -domestic servants of the residents. - - * * * * * - -Let the reader, who has perhaps wandered through the empty cathedral to -admire its wonderful proportions and beautiful architecture, and who has, -while so doing, felt the moral chill of its emptiness, try to refurnish it -with the shrines, chapels, and tombs, the loft for the nightly watchers of -the shrine, the cell of the recluse priest, all inclosed within the vast -ground plan and towering height of the main building, reminding us of the -many mansions in the House of the Heavenly Father. Or let him place -himself in imagination in the choir on the day on which the mediaeval -bishop was holding his synod. The stalls at the west end are occupied by -the dean and the four dignitaries in their copes, who face eastward and -overlook the whole assembly. The canopied stalls on the sides are filled -by their prebendaries in surplice and furred cope; the vicars choral and -the choristers are in their places in the subsellae on each side; the long -rows of benches in front of the stalls are filled by the clergy of the -diocese, so many as can find room; the bishop in cope and mitre occupies -his lofty canopied throne at the east end of the south line of stalls; the -great nave beyond is crowded with the rest of the clergy and their -synodsmen, and the citizens, and the people from the country round, -attracted to the imposing spectacle. It is the whole people of a diocese -stretching from the Humber to the Thames, which by representation has -assembled in the mother church to listen to their bishop's fatherly -exhortations, and to join with him in a united service of worship of -Almighty God. - -Let us adjourn to the chapter-house, which seems so empty and so useless -to the modern visitor. See it filled now, with the bishop on the stone -throne opposite the entrance, and the dignitaries of the cathedral and the -archdeacons seated to right and left of him, and the whole area crowded -with the clergy and synodsmen; it is the people of his diocese--the -clergy in person, the laity by their representatives--come to report -themselves to their bishop, to submit themselves to his jurisdiction, to -receive his admonitions and counsels. The House of Lords is a rather -depressing spectacle to the visitor who gazes on its empty grandeur; but -see it filled on some great day, _e.g._ when the Sovereign opens -Parliament in person, and it is not too grand for the meeting-place of the -Sovereign and Peers of Britain and for the transaction of the business of -an Empire. In the chapter-house it was the spiritual business of the King -of kings which was transacted--business which concerned the eternal -interests of those present; so the grand and beautiful building, with its -soaring central pillar and its overshadowing groining, was not too grand -for the spiritual significance of the multitude which its walls encircled. - -So the broad lawns which surround the building were not left only to -enable the spectator to obtain a good view of the building. Their use was -seen on St. Hugh's Day, when the people of the town and villages came -trooping in at every gate, with crosses and banners and painted wands, and -needed space in which to arrange the long procession which wound slowly -round the close and entered by the western door. - - * * * * * - -The magnitude and importance of the dioceses differed greatly, and so did -the emoluments of the bishops and of the cathedral establishments. We -have given Lincoln as an example of the greater dioceses; we may take the -Diocese of the South Saxons, with its See at Chichester, as an example of -the smaller. - -When the bishop-stool of the South Saxons was removed after the Norman -Conquest from Selsey to Chichester, Earl Roger of Montgomery gave the -south-west quarter of the city, including a portion of the old Roman walls -which protected it, for a site for the cathedral. A nunnery with a church -dedicated to St. Peter already existed on the site; the nuns were -transferred elsewhere, and the church used as the germ of the cathedral -church.[387] Bishop Stigand built a new church of timber, which was soon -replaced. The able and energetic Bishop Ralph Luffa was the real founder -of the present cathedral. His church was of the normal Norman plan, a -cross church with a low central tower and two west towers, all of massive -construction, plain almost to sternness. It was in the thirteenth century -that, among other great additions to the church, the central tower was -raised by the addition of another story; and not till the fifteenth -century that the lofty and graceful spire was added which was the peculiar -glory of Chichester. - -The constitution of the cathedral was in the main the same as at Lincoln, -the bishop, dean, precentor, chancellor, and treasurer, with twenty-eight -prebendaries, twelve vicars choral, etc., and two archdeacons. - -The information given us in the "Taxatio" of the finances of the diocese -in 1291 is scanty:-- - - The temporalities[388] of the bishop were valued at L462 4_s._ - 6-3/4_d._ - - The dean and chapter had estates, appropriate rectories, portions, - pensions, etc., which brought in a clear income of L310 14_s._ - 6-1/2_d._ - - The dignities of the cathedral are given as follows:-- - - The deanery with a prebend, L53 6_s._ 8_d._ - - The chantry, L53 6_s._ 8_d._ - - The chancellor with the Rectory of Chiddingly, L53 6_s._ 8_d._ - - The treasurer, _per se_ L46 13_s._ 4_d._ - - Then came twenty-eight other prebends, ranging from L4 13_s._ 4_d._ to - L40, making up the total income of the dignitaries and prebendaries to - L706 13_s._ 4_d._ - -When we turn to the "Valor" (vol. i. p. 293), we find fuller details of -the condition of things at the end of the fifteenth century. "The annual -value of all and singular, the houses, castles, domains, manors, lands, -and tenements, and other temporal possessions whatsoever, and also of the -tithes, oblations, pensions, portions, and other spiritual profits -whatsoever, of the Reverend Father in Christ, Robert, Bishop of -Chichester," amounted to spiritualities, L138 17_s._ 9_d._; -temporalities,[389] L589 10_s._ 2_d._; or, after certain allowed -deductions, to a clear total of L677 1_s._ 3_d._ - -The income of the dean and chapter has grown to L310 14_s._ 6-1/2_d._; we -have no note of the way in which it was disposed of. - - The income of the dean, William Fleshmonger, was L58 9_s._ 4_d._ We - have no reason to doubt that he was identical with the William - Fleshmonger who was Rector of Selsey,[390] worth L11 3_s._ 4_d._; with - the Dr. William Fleshmonger who was Rector of Storyngton,[391] L18; - and with the William Fleshmonger who was Rector of Hertfield,[392] L7. - No doubt it was the dean who was the tenant by indenture for a term of - years from Battle Abbey, at a rent of L15 6_s._ 8_d._, of the Manor of - Apultram[393] near Chichester, and in all probability he is identical - with the William Fleshmonger who held the Prebend of Carlton cum - Dalby[394] of the Church of Lincoln. - - The Dignity of the Precentory had endowment to the amount of L35 0_s._ - 5-1/2_d._, and Charles William Horsey seems to have had no other - preferment in Chichester Diocese. But among the Prebendaries of - Lincoln there is also a William Horsey, Prebendary of Scamelsby,[395] - who may very possibly have been identical with our Precentor. - - The Dignity of Chancellor was endowed with a clear L27 7_s._, and we - find that Mr. George Croft was also Prebendary of Middleton,[396] - worth L2 3_s._ 4_d._ There was also a George Croft, Rector of - Wynford,[397] L21 12_s._ 10_d._, in the diocese of Bath and Wells, who - may have been our chancellor. - - The treasurer, Hugho Rolfe, after paying two servants and other dues, - had a clear L62 6_s._ 8_d._ from the dignity, and held besides the - Prebend of Braklesham,[398] L11 17_s._ 3-1/2_d._, and apparently the - vicarage of Henfield,[399] L16 9_s._ 9-1/2_d._ - - * * * * * - - The dignity of the Archdeaconry of Chichester was worth L38 3_s._ - 4_d._, and the Archdeacon John Worthial also held the Prebend of Huve - Town,[400] L10; he seems also to have held the benefice of Sutton, L15 - 0_s._ 6_d._;[401] but we hesitate to identify the venerable archdeacon - with the William Worthiall who held the two Chantries of Eastangmering - and Fyrring,[402] though no doubt his friends would often jestingly - assure him that if he had half a dozen more sinecures he would still - have been "worthy all." The Archdeaconry of Lewes was worth L39 14_s._ - 10_d._, and Archdeacon More was also Prebendary of Coleworth,[403] L18 - 13_s._ 4_d._, and is probably identical with the Edward More who was - Vicar of Bexhill,[404] worth L23 10_s._ 2_d._ There were altogether - thirty-one prebends ranging in value from L10 to L20; four of these - were added by Bishop Sherborne a little before the Reformation, - restricted to men of Winchester and New Colleges, who were required to - serve in their own persons without deputies. - -Residentiaries on first appointment to office were bound to attend every -service without a single omission for a year, and in case of an omission -to recommence their course. - - There were twelve vicars choral who received L2 12_s._ 8_d._ each, and - fourteen chantries which were served by the vicars choral, the profits - of each ranging between L3 and L13. There were also eight choristers - and four thuribulers.[405] - -"Bishop Sherborne, just before the Reformation, having ruled -magnificently, laid down his staff and mitre weary with the weight of -ninety years and more, and left his statutes chained to his throne; -begging the kindly thoughts of all sorts and conditions of men; with a -bequest of crown soleil, and bread and good wine to be offered to the -bishop at his 'jocund coming' on a visitation; ypocras and choice fruits -for the crowned king and primate; wine to be drunk round the city cross -for the young; ample doles for the aged; marriage portions out of the -annual residue for poor girls; egg flip with milk and sugar, coloured with -saffron, for the choristers; and a dinner to the chapter on his -anniversary."[406] - - * * * * * - -There are some examples in England of that annexation of temporal rule to -certain episcopal sees, of which the independent prince bishops of Germany -are instances still more illustrious, and the Bishop of Rome the most -remarkable. The _Bishops of Durham_ were the temporal rulers of the -district of country between the Tees and the Tyne, and almost independent -of the king; while the men of "the bishopric," as it was called in a -special sense, were the servants of St. Cuthbert, and subject to none but -Cuthbert's successor. This privilege arose from a gift of the district to -St. Cuthbert and his successors by King Guthred in the year 883. The -_Bishops of Winchester_ were anciently reputed to be Earls of Southampton, -and possessed a certain temporal authority, the origin of which is not -known to the writer. The _Bishop of Ely_ was in ancient times supreme in -the Isle, which was, if not a county palatine, at least a royal franchise, -with courts and exclusive jurisdiction of its own; of which traces remain -in the existing arrangements, in that it has no Lord-Lieutenant, and is in -every way distinct from the rest of the county in which it is situated. It -is reasonable to suppose that the bishop (created in 1108) derived this -authority as the successor of the abbots, who received it as the -representatives of Queen Etheldreda, the founder, in continuance of -privileges conferred on the queen when King Tondbert gave the Isle to her -in dower. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -MONKS AND FRIARS. - - -We have only to deal here with the relations of the religious houses with -the clergy, and their influence upon the general religious life of clergy -and people. - -First of all, the monasteries kept before the minds both of parish priests -and of their people the ideal of an unambitious, self-denying, studious, -meditative, religious life. No doubt many of the monks and nuns fell short -of their own ideal, and there were occasional scandals; we find notices in -the registers of the bishops of their intervention in such cases. But the -lives of the majority were sufficiently respectable to maintain the credit -of the institution, and there were always some whose lives were exemplary. -We may produce an evidence of the general feeling on the subject from the -report of the commissioners of Henry VIII., who were sent to inquire into -the state of the smaller monasteries, with a view to their suppression. -The report stated that there were all sorts of abuses and scandals in the -smaller houses, and recommended that they should be suppressed, and that -their inhabitants should be transferred to "the great solemn monasteries -of this realm, wherein--thanks be to God--religion is right well kept and -observed." As to their report against the smaller houses; they had been -employed on purpose to make out a case against them, and the world has -long since come to the conclusion that their adverse testimony is not to -be believed. - -If we are right in these enlightened days in thinking that fine public -buildings for the housing of parliaments, municipal corporations, and the -like civil institutions of the nation tend to give dignity to the national -life; and that galleries of sculpture and painting, and museums of art, -exercise an elevating influence on the popular mind; it can hardly be -denied that the religious houses, with their stately groups of buildings, -their sublime churches, and the numerous beautiful works of sculpture, -painting, embroidery, and goldsmiths' work which they contained, must have -had a similar influence upon the religious sentiment and the aesthetic -education of the people. A mediaeval town was greatly the richer, -religiously and intellectually, for having a great monastery in its -suburb. The half-dozen religious houses--great and small--in a rural -county had a religious, civilizing, elevating influence over the whole -country-side. Even their empty ruins have not lost all their influence. -The stately relics of the Yorkshire abbeys give added interest and dignity -to the great northern county. What would the Isle of Ely be without the -solemn grandeur of its cathedral church? - -There is not enough left of any one of our own monasteries to enable the -visitor to its mournful ruins to realize how each was a little town, -protected by its walls and gate towers; with the roofs and chimneys of its -numerous domestic buildings, and the trees of its gardens and orchards -appearing over the walls; and the towers of its great church forming the -centre of the architectural group, as it was the centre of the life of the -inhabitants. We have, therefore, borrowed an illustration from Clugny, the -parent and prototype of the houses of the Reformed Benedictine Orders. - - * * * * * - -The "Religious" and the upper classes of society were more in touch than -at first sight appears. The great families kept up friendly relations[407] -with the houses which their ancestors had founded, of which they were -still the patrons, and from time to time benefactors. People of the upper -classes, in travelling, usually sought hospitality at the religious -houses, and were entertained by the abbot, while their people were cared -for in the guest house. The monks and nuns were largely taken from these -classes. - -[Illustration: Abbey of Cluny, as it was.] - -Throughout the Middle Ages the monks--especially the -Benedictines--continued to cultivate learning, both secular and religious. -The chroniclers of the greater monasteries were the only historians of the -time, and their collections of books were the libraries of the nation. -Some of the great monasteries served the purpose of the great public -schools of modern times, and the nunneries especially were--as they are -still in Continental countries--the schools of the daughters of the -gentry. - -Long after they had ceased to be the pioneers leading the way in reducing -the waste lands under cultivation, the monks continued to set an example -to the lay gentry and landowners in enterprising scientific agriculture -and horticulture; and in the refinement of domestic economy they were ages -ahead of the rest of the community; they utilized streams for water power, -for irrigation, and for sanitation; they sought out pure water for -domestic use, and brought it long distances by conduits. The Church, -regular and secular, was a liberal landlord. Not a few of its tenants, -seated generation after generation on its manors, grew into knightly and -noble families. - -The monasteries exercised a most important direct influence upon the -parochial clergy and their people owing to the fact that they were the -patrons of a large proportion of the parishes; and nominated the vicars -who were to teach and minister to the people of those parishes. In many -cases where a monastery adjoined a town, the convent had the patronage of -all the vicarages in the town in its hands; and their bias would lead them -to appoint men of a "religious" tone of character. - -That the monks were not unpopular is proved by two facts. First, that the -House of Commons only passed the first Act of Suppression of the smaller -houses under the coercion of the king's personal threats; and, secondly, -that the suppression was so resented by the people that in several parts -of the country the people rose in armed rebellion against it. - -But we must be content to indicate thus briefly that the monastic -institution in many ways exercised a powerful influence upon the national -life and religion. - - * * * * * - -The Mendicant Orders require a more lengthened consideration, for they -were founded as an auxiliary to the ancient diocesan and parochial -institution, in direct pastoral ministrations to the people, and played an -important part in the religious life of the nation. - -In the thirteenth century--as again in our day--the increasing population -had grown too great for the agricultural needs of the country, and the -surplus population had flocked into the towns. The result then, as now, -was overcrowding, the building of unhealthy houses in the suburbs, -poverty, dirt, and disease; and, as a consequence, ignorance and -irreligion. Leprosy, brought probably from the East by the returning -Crusaders, had become permanent and widely spread among all ranks and -classes.[408] At the same time a wave of wild opinions, political and -religious, was sweeping across Europe which reached this island almost a -century later under the name of Lollardism, and created disaffection in -Church and State. - -The intellectual disorder excited the zeal of the Spanish canon, Dominic, -who organized an order of preaching friars, to go about teaching the truth -and contending against dangerous error. About the same time the heart of -Francis, a citizen of Amalfi, was fired with compassion for the misery of -the poor and sick, and he organized an order of brothers, whose duty it -was to minister to suffering humanity. Both orders speedily became very -popular, and spread over Europe. The Dominicans introduced themselves into -England at Oxford, in 1221, and were patronized by Archbishop Stephen -Langton. The first Franciscans came three years afterwards to Canterbury; -and both orders spread as rapidly here as in the other countries of -Europe. - -[Illustration: A Semi-choir of Franciscan Friars. (Fourteenth century MS. -in British Museum. Domitian, A. 17.)] - -The organization of both orders ran on the same lines. Each was an -ecclesiastical army. Each had a general of the order residing in Rome, -under the special protection and correction of one of the cardinals. Under -the general was a provincial in each country into which the order -extended. The houses of the order in each country were gathered into -groups, called by the Dominicans, "Visitations," and by the Franciscans, -"Custodies." The English province of the Franciscans was divided into -seven custodies or wardenships, each including eight or nine -convents,[409] and comprising most of the great towns. The Dominicans had -fifty-eight convents here; the Franciscans 75. The officers were all -elected at a chapter, were required to resign at the ensuing chapter, and -might be removed at any time for insufficiency or misconduct. - -The Carmelite Friars had their origin in the East, and were introduced -into England by Sir John de Vesey, on his return from the Crusade in the -early part of the thirteenth century. It had ultimately about five houses -in England. The Austin Friars, founded about the middle of the century, -had about forty-five houses here. These make up the four orders, Black, -Grey, White, and Austin. All smaller foundations were suppressed or -included in the Austins, by the Council of Lyons, in 1370. - -The great difference between the monks and the friars was that the ideal -of the monastic life was seclusion from the world for prayer and -meditation with a view to the cultivation of one's own soul; that of the -friar's life was devotion to active work. The great economical difference -was that the monks were individually vowed to poverty, but as communities -they were wealthy, while the friars were vowed to have no property -individually or collectively, and to live of the alms of the people. - -At first the friars were very successful in England, as elsewhere. Bishops -like Stephen Langton and Grostete patronized them. Before long members of -the mendicant orders became themselves bishops and archbishops. They sent -their young men to the universities, and cultivated learning so -successfully that they soon became the most famous teachers in the -universities of Europe. Among the people generally they effected a great -revival of religion, which Sir J. Stephen compares with the revival in -more modern times effected by the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield. - -The friaries were always founded in, or in the suburbs of, the larger -towns, for their mission was to the masses of the people. But they had a -system of itineration, which seems to have divided the country into -districts, and sent the friars two and two, visiting not only the villages -but the houses of the gentry and farmers. This brought the friars into -rivalry with the parish priests. In the towns the Dominicans often built a -large church, planned so as to form an auditorium, and attracted large -congregations by their popular preaching. The friars laid themselves out -also for special services, which would attract the sluggish and popularize -religion, such as miracle plays and the observance of special festivals. -In the villages the itinerant friar preached in the church or churchyard, -and heard the confessions of those who chose to come to him; and there -were many who preferred to confess their misdoings to a comparative -stranger, who did not live among them, rather than to their parish priest. - -So says Chaucer-- - - He had power of confession, - As said himself, more than a curate, - For of his order he was licentiate. - Full sweetly heard he confession, - And pleasant was his absolution. - He was an easy man to give penance - There as he wist to have a good pittance, - For unto a poor order for to give - Is sign that a man is well yshrive. - "Prologue to the Canterbury Tales." - -Both in town and country they offered the fraternity of their convent to -benefactors, with its prayers for their good estate while living, and -sought to have masses for the dead entrusted to them on the ground that a -convent of friars would pray them out of purgatory ten times as soon as a -single parish priest. - - "Thomas, Thomas, so might I ride or go, - And by that lord that cleped is St. Ive, - N'ere[410] thou our brother shouldest thou not thrive. - In our chapter pray we day and night - To Christ that he here send hele and might[411] - Thy body for to welden hastilee." - -The rustic roughly answers-- - - "God wot, quoth he, I nothing thereof feel, - So help me Christ as I in fewe years - Have spended upon divers manner freres - Full many a pound, yet fare I never the bet." - "Ye sayn me thus how that I am your brother. - Ye, certes, quod the friar, trusteth wee, - I took our dame the letter under our sel."[412] - Chaucer, "The Sompnour's Tale." - -So "Piers Plowman" says-- - - "I am Wrath, quod he, I was sum tyme a frere - And the convent's gardyner for to graff impes - On limitours and lesyngs I imped - Till they bere leaves of low speech lordes to please, - And sithen they blossomed abrode in bower to hear shrifts. - And now is fallen thereof a fruite, that folk have well liever - Shewen ther shriftes to hem than shryve them to their parsons. - And now parsons have percyved that freres part with them, - These possessioners preache and deprave freres, - And freres find them in default, as folk beareth witness." - -Bonaventure, when General of the Franciscans, in a letter to one of his -provincials, expresses great dissatisfaction with those of the brethren -who, contrary to the rule of Francis, assault the clergy in their sermons -before the laity, and only sow scandal, strife, and hatred, and with those -who injure the parish priests by monopolizing to themselves the burial of -the dead and the drawing up of wills, thereby making the whole Order -detested by the clergy. But he complains of the injustice done by accusing -the whole of what was the fault only of a few--"the scum floats on the -surface, and is noticed by every one."[413] It was rather hard, perhaps, -on the parish priest, that he should not only be obliged to submit to the -intrusion of the friar, but should be expected to offer hospitality to the -intruder, and make much of him, as a constitution of Archbishop Peckham -desires him to do.[414] - -It is the popular belief that the friars, after having in the first burst -of their enthusiasm effected a great revival of religion, very soon -departed from the principles of their founders, became useless, if not -mischievous, and fell into universal disfavour. There is no denying that -the splendid enthusiasm of their first institution cooled down, and the -wonderful revival of popular religion which it brought about seemed to die -out; it is the inevitable course of all such revivals; but it left good -perennial results behind. - -The burgesses of the towns in which the friaries were situated seem to -have regarded them as useful workers among the poor. In many of the towns -the civic authorities consented to hold the site and buildings of the -friaries in trust, in order to evade the rule which forbade the orders -themselves to hold property. The friars continued to live, and their -continuance depended upon the daily voluntary alms of the townspeople. The -churches of the friars were favourite places for civic functions and -miracle plays; the people sought burial in their precincts; and down to -the very eve of their dissolution a great number of wills, both of clergy -and laity, contain small bequests to the friars. Perhaps the most striking -evidence in their favour at the very end of their existence in England is -that Edward IV. was a great patron of the Observants (the strictest -section of the Franciscans); Henry VII. founded six convents of them; and -Henry VIII. took one of them as his confessor. It is a fact which tells in -their favour that they had not grown wealthy. When the dissolution came, -the jackals of Henry VIII. found nothing but the houses and their -precincts, usually in a poor neighbourhood, and their churches. Their -income is commonly returned at 20_s._ to 40_s._, and the total value of -the property, when the prior's house and the garden and orchard and the -whole convent was let out on rent, was seldom over L10 a year.[415] - -The truth seems to be that the friars continued to be the most popular -preachers, and to carry on a steady work among the poor of the towns. But, -strongly papal in sentiment, their constitution made them an organized -propaganda of any ideas which the cardinal protectors and generals of the -orders residing in Rome suggested to the provincials in the several -nations, they to the wardens of the districts, they to the priors of the -houses, they to their individual friars, and they through the streets of -the city and the length and breadth of the land. It was, perhaps, their -political opposition to Henry VIII. more than any other cause of offence -or dereliction of duty, which provoked their overthrow. - -The two chief faults of the system were the principle of mendicancy and -the exemption from episcopal control. It is worth while to study the -institution carefully, for something of the same kind--brotherhoods of -educated and trained men, who are content to abandon the world's -ambitions, to live among the poor, to preach the gospel in a popular way, -and to minister to the temporal sufferings of the people--is exactly what -is wanted to produce a new revival among the masses of the people; and we -need to ascertain the secrets of the friars' strength and of their -weakness. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -THE "TAXATIO" OF POPE NICHOLAS IV. - - -In the thirteenth century the popes assumed the right, as feudal lords -over the Church, to demand from every church benefice a fine of its first -year's income from every new incumbent, and an annual tax of one-tenth of -its income. The Saxon kings had made the Church lands exempt from state -imposts;[416] but now kings very naturally began to think that the -necessities of the State had as good a claim as those of the pope; and -there ensued a certain amount of friction. The popes, with very astute -policy, reconciled the kings to the tax by sometimes ceding the proceeds -of it to them. Thus in 1253, Pope Innocent IV. gave the tenths to King -Henry III. for three years, which occasioned a taxation or valuation to be -made in the following year, sometimes called the Norwich Taxation, -sometimes Pope Innocent's Valor. - -Again, in 1288, Pope Nicholas IV. gave the tenths to King Edward I. for -six years, towards an expedition to the Holy Land; that they might be -fully collected a new taxation was made by the king's precept, which was -begun in that year and finished in the province of Canterbury in 1291, and -in the province of York in 1292.[417] This taxation continued to be the -basis of all assessments upon the Church down to the time of the -Reformation. - -The survey takes each diocese by itself, each archdeaconry of the diocese, -each rural deanery, and, finally, each benefice. Here is a specimen, -selected because it is a deanery of which the writer has some personal -knowledge. - -SPIRITUALIA ARCHIDIACONATUS ESSEXIAE. DECANATUS DE BERDESTAPLE. - - L _s._ _d._ - - Ecclia de Thurrok pva 5 6 8 - Porco Rectoris de Westurrok ibidem 0 6 6 - Ecclia de Oresith 16 0 0 - Porcio Cancellarii Sci Pauli Lond' ibidem 6 0 0 - Porcio Magri Johis de Sco Claro ibidem 2 0 0 - Porcio Prioris de Pritelwell in North Beniflete 1 6 8 - Porcio Abbis Westm. ibidem 0 13 4 - Porcio Decani Sci Martini London' ibm 0 10 0 - Ecclia de Westilleby 13 16 8 - Ecclia de Estilleby 14 13 4 - Ecclia de Hornyngdone 12 0 0 - Vicar' ejusdem 4 13 4 - Porcio Abbis Colcestr' ibidem 2 0 0 - Porcio Prioris de Beremondes' ibidem 1 13 4 - Ecclia de Mockyng 14 13 4 - Porcio Abbisse de Berkyngg ibidem 2 0 0 - Ecclia de Stanford 16 0 0 - Pensio Abbis de Bileye in Langedon 2 0 0 - Ecclia de Bulephen 13 6 8 - Ecclia de Coringham 8 0 0 - Porcio Prioris de P'telewell in Wikford 2 13 4 - Porcio ejusdem Prioris in Thunderle 1 4 0 - Ecclia de Bures 6 13 4 - Ecclia de Bourgsted 13 6 8 - Ecclia de Leyndon 13 6 8 - Ecclia de Fobbing 10 0 0 - Ecclesia de Chaldewell 5 6 8 - Ecclia de Magna Bemfleth 6 13 0 - Porcio Abbatis Colcestr' in Ecclia de Picher' - cu' penc' sua in eadem 1 6 8 - Ecclia Dontone 5 6 8 - Pensio Prioris de Okebourn ibidem 2 13 4 - Ecclia de Burgsted pva 4 13 4 - Ecclia de Hoton 9 6 8 - Penc' Abbis de Bello ibidem 0 5 0 - Ecclia de Shenefeud 10 0 0 - Ecclia de Duddynggeherst 8 0 0 - Ecclia de Gingg Rad'i 6 13 4 - Ecclia de Ramesden Cray 5 6 8 - Ecclia de Ramesden Belhous 6 13 4 - Ecclia de Dounham 5 6 8 - Ecclia de Fangge 6 13 4 - Sm{a} L268 14_s._ 10_d._ - - In the list of smaller benefices we find also belonging to this deanery-- - - Vicar' de Tilleby magna 2 0 0 - Ecclia de Parva Benifleth 1 13 4 - Ecclia de Wykford 2 6 8 - Ecclia de Thunderle 1 10 0 - Ecclia de Thorndon magna 1 13 4 - -From the list of _temporalia_ in the same deanery we find that the -following--the Abbots of Coggeshall, Stratford, St. Osyth, Colchester, -Battle, Westminster, Byleigh, the Abbess of Barking, the Priors of Thoby, -Prittlewell, Okeburn, Bermondsey, Leigh, Buttele,[418] Kereseye, the -Chapter of St. Paul's, and the Chapter of St. Martin's, London, had income -in land, rent, marsh, young of animals, mills, fallen wood, from the -following places: Langedon, Thorndon magna, Bursted parva, Ging Rudulphi, -Thorndon, Thorndon parva, Tillebery parva, Duddyngeherst, Stornyngdon, -Donton, Doneham, Westlee, Horton, Wykford, Bournstead (Bursted) magna, -Bulewephen, Fanga (Vange), Leydon, Mocrkyngge, Bowers, Benifleth parva, -Chaldwell, Shenefeud, Piches [in a footnote Picheseye = Pitsey], Raumesden -Cray, Rammesden Belhous, Felbingge, Thurrock parva, Thonderle, Bemfleth -magna. - -Every "Ecclesia" in the list gives the name of a parish, and where the -word occurs it implies that the parish was a rectory. Where it is followed -by _Vicaria ejusdem_--the vicarage of the same--it implies that the -rectory had been appropriated to some religious house, which had founded a -vicarage therein; in this particular deanery there is only one vicarage; -but it is very possible, for anything which appears, that some of the -Ecclesiae may have been appropriated to a religious house, which was -technically the rector possessing all spiritual and temporal rights in the -church and parish, and serving the cure by one of its own members, or by a -stipendiary priest. - -Even where the benefice had not been appropriated to a religious house, it -often happened that some "portion" of the profits of the benefice--_e.g._ -of the tithe or of some part of the land--had been appropriated; or that a -definite annual payment, "pension," had been assigned out of the -benefice. Thus, under "Ecclesia de Oresith," the rectory of Orsett, -appears quite a list of "portions," viz. of the Chancellor of St. Paul's, -of Mr. John of St. Clair, of the Prior of Prittlewell, of the Abbot of -Westminster, of the Dean of St. Martin, London; the Abbot of Bileigh had a -"pension" out of the rectory of Stanford, the Prior of Oakburn out of -Dunton, the Abbot of Battle out of Hutton. There are two ways of -explaining this. One is the way of the enemy of the religious houses, -whose cynical explanation is that the monks had their spoon in everybody's -porridge--the Rector of Orsett had half a dozen spoons clattering together -in his dish. The other explanation is that of the friend of the religious -houses: that they were held in such general admiration, that lords of -manors and patrons of parochial benefices who could not do more, at least -made small appropriations to them out of their patronage, in token of good -will, and in order to secure a permanent interest in the friendship and -prayers of the Religious. With these explanations of the list of benefices -of the deanery of Barstaple, we leave it for the present, proposing to -make it the text of further exposition hereafter.[419] - - * * * * * - -In studying this mediaeval clergy-list, the first thought which occurs to -every one is to count the parishes and ascertain the total. Allowing for -difficulties which tend to a few omissions, or the counting of a few -names over again, it may be depended upon that the number of parishes was -about 8085; that out of those which had been appropriated to religious -bodies vicarages had been endowed in about 1487, the 457 chapels had -probably some endowment, besides the chapels-of-ease, dependent on the -incumbent of the parish. Adding the parish churches and chapels together, -we get a total of 8542 endowed places of public worship and centres of -pastoral care.[420] - - Vicarages Ecclesiae not - founded exceeding Vicarages - Ecclesiae. in them. Chapels. 10 marks. ditto. - - Canterbury 221 58 15 47 28 - Rochester 108 31 0 50 39 - London 459 86 13 150 33 - Lincoln 1738 353 76 467 279 - Norwich 1165 80 17 354 35 - Chichester 286 112 3 91 81 - Exeter 529 139 49 344 158 - Hereford 291 94 48 155 82 - Sarum 493 104 50 222 80 - Bath and Wells 262 42 19 113 29 - Winton 338 53 41 84 34 - Worcester 335 34 60 136 26 - Coventry and Lichfield 382 28 27 154 27 - Ely 135 37 3 15 35 - St. David's 223 0 4 124 0 - Llandaff 131 9 9 72 6 - St. Asaph's 109 63 13 47 55 - Bangor 34 0 1 26 1 - York 625 113 4 93 61 - Durham 117 43 4 15 25 - Carlisle 94 25 1 2 14 - ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- - 8085 1487 457 2711 1125 - 457 1125 - ---- ---- - 8542 3836 - -The next question which naturally excites interest is the incomes of the -benefices, by which the services of the mediaeval parish clergy were -remunerated. The general idea is that the mediaeval clergy were richly -endowed. The truth which is revealed by the figures of this official -document is that, when we take away the livings assigned by their patrons -as the prebends of cathedrals, and those appropriated to religious houses, -the benefices of the "working clergy," the rectors and vicars, were mostly -of small value. - -Before we go into a detailed examination of them, it is desirable to make -two preliminary remarks. The first is as to the value of money at that -period. The question will be more fully considered in the next chapter in -connection with the new valuation which was made in the time of Henry -VIII., but it will be convenient to anticipate here the estimate there -accepted that the purchasing power of money at the end of the thirteenth -century was about twenty-four times as great as now, so that a pound was -then equivalent to about L24 now. The other remark is in reply to the -question which will naturally arise in every reader's mind: were not the -benefices much undervalued? On the contrary, it was the object of pope and -king to estimate them as highly as possible, so as to increase the amount -of the tenth to be demanded from them. Every source of income was taken -into the account; and the general complaint at the time was that they were -overestimated. - -Turning now to a little study of the value of the ordinary parochial -benefices, the writer has shrunk from the laborious task of anything like -a complete analysis; for a few general facts are sufficient for the -present purpose. First of all, many of the benefices were so small that -both pope and king[421] were ashamed to demand a tenth of their poor -income; a limit of ten marks (= L6 13_s._ 4_d._) was fixed, and all -livings not over that sum were exempted. No wonder, when we reckon that -the present value of a benefice of ten marks would be about L160 a year. -But there were 2711 rectories and 1129 vicarages, making a total of 3840, -nearly half the number of parochial benefices under the limit of ten -marks. - -Looking at the better-endowed benefices: Canterbury was an exceptionally -rich diocese; out of its 279 benefices, there are 82 of ten marks and -under, only 80 above L20, and the richest living, a rare exception, is -L133. In Rochester, with 139 benefices, 46 are less than ten marks, only -34 of L20 and upwards, and there are two "golden livings" of L60 each. In -Exeter diocese, out of 668 benefices, there are 189 of ten marks and -under, 15 of L20 and over, only one so large as L50. In Bath and Wells, -out of 304 parishes, there are 124 under ten marks; three of L50 and over, -and the highest is one of L60. In Carlisle, out of 24 parishes, there are -18 of ten marks and under; 42 of L20 and over; one of L90, and one of -L120. The usual income of a vicarage was L5, a little more or less; there -are very few of greater value, up to L8 and L10. - -The conclusion is forced upon us by these official figures, that the -mediaeval parish clergy were scantily endowed; one would wonder how, in -many cases, with such endowments, they could live, and maintain -hospitality to travellers, and help their poor, if one did not call to -mind that the majority of the clergy had not a wife and family to -maintain; that the rectors were mostly of the families of the gentry, and -many of the vicars probably of the middle class, and that--then, as -now--the majority of the beneficed clergy probably had some resources of -their own, and perhaps--then, as now--brought as much into the church of -their own as they took out of it in their annual profits. - -A contemporary copy of the taxation of the Diocese of Exeter gives on the -end page a summary of the tenths for the whole kingdom-- - - L _s._ _d._ - Sum of the tenth of the Province of Canterbury 16,258 18 4 - Sum of the tenth of the Province of York 4,155 10 7 - ------------------- - Sum total of both provinces 20,414 8 11 - ------------------- - Which, multiplied by ten, will give the total - value taxed 204,144 9 2 - -The Bishop of Oxford, "as the result of a painful calculation from the -'Taxatio,'" arrives at the following conclusion:-- - -Spirituals, L135,665; temporals, L74,978; total, L210,644; and the -temporals of the bishops included in the total amount of temporals was -L16,826. - -Of the number of the clergy nearly a century later we have an exact -official return. In the year 1377 a poll-tax was levied on the whole body -of the clergy of England and Wales, excepting those of the counties -Palatine of Durham and Chester, of twelve-pence on "every beneficed -ecclesiastic, exempt and not exempt, privileged and not privileged, and -all abbots, priors, abbesses, prioresses, monks, canons, canonesses, and -other regulars of whatever order, sex, and condition, the four orders of -mendicants alone excepted;" and fourpence on "every priest, deacon, -sub-deacon, accolite, and those obtaining the first tonsure exceeding the -age of fourteen years." - -The total number of men given in the returns is 15,238 beneficed, and -13,943 unbeneficed. If we suppose the number in the excepted counties of -Durham and Chester to have been in the same proportion, we should have a -total for the whole of England (Wales is not included in the return) of -about 15,800 beneficed, and 14,000 unbeneficed, and a total of about -29,800. From the same return we gather that the whole population of the -country at that time was about 2,065,000.[422] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE "VALOR ECCLESIASTICUS" OF HENRY VIII. - - -It is convenient to take into consideration here another survey of the -Church which was taken about two centuries later. - -When Crown, Parliament, and Church, in the sixteenth century, determined -to throw off the patriarchal supremacy of Rome, for which its monstrous -pecuniary exactions in one shape and another was one prominent motive, the -clergy no doubt fondly expected that they would get rid for ever of the -burden of first-fruits and tenths, but found themselves grievously -disappointed. One of the political motives of the king in the complex -series of events which we sum up under the general name of the -Reformation, was the diminution of the power and wealth of the Church. The -property of the monasteries, which he confiscated, the manors of the sees, -which he compelled the bishops to surrender, did not suffice him. A -subservient Parliament, passing one Act in 1532 and another in 1534, put -the first-fruits and tenths into his hands. It was a considerable -addition to the royal revenue, and the king took measures to secure the -full advantage of it. A commission was appointed to make a new survey of -the income of the Church. The commissioners by themselves and their agents -went carefully through every diocese, archdeaconry, rural deanery and -parish, and required every person to state on oath what was the income -which he derived from his benefice from every source. The returns were -sent in by 1534. - -The result, so far as it concerns us here, was a return of the condition -of the Church at the close of the mediaeval period of great historical -value. The returns are not given with the same fulness from every diocese, -but where they are given fully they give not only the general return of -the value of each benefice, but also the names of the clergy and in -several dioceses a schedule of the sources of their income.[423] - -The first thing to which attention is naturally directed is the number of -parishes, and a comparison with the number in the "Taxatio" two centuries -before. The enumeration is not free from difficulties, but the figures -given may be taken as approximately correct. - -We make out that the totals are as follows:--Total number of parishes, -8838; of vicarages, 3307; of chapels, 536; of chantries, 1733.[424] - -Comparing these figures with those of the "Taxatio," it will be seen that -the total number of parishes had increased very little in the interval, -though the population of the country had increased from about 2,200,000 to -about 4,350,000 souls. - -This may be accounted for partly by the fact that the growth of population -had caused the creation of few new centres of population, but only the -increase of the populations of the existing centres. There were very few, -if any, new towns or new parishes in the towns, but the old towns had -grown larger; there were few new rural parishes, but the villages had a -larger population; so that there was little increase in the number of -parish priests, but each priest ministered to a larger flock; where new -centres of population had sprung up, their wants were supplied by a chapel -and its chaplain. The increase in the means of supplying the spiritual -wants of the increased population had taken the form of the employment of -Domestic Chaplains and Gild Chaplains, and the foundation of Chantries, -which we shall have to deal with in subsequent chapters. - -The next question to which we turn is the income of the Church as a whole, -and of the parochial benefices in particular, and a comparison in this -respect also between the "Taxatio" and the "Valor." - -The ostentation of minute accuracy on the part of the taxers is almost -ludicrous, the princely income of the Bishop of Lincoln is returned at -L1962 17_s._ 4-1/2_d._ In dividing a sum of money among the minor canons -of that cathedral, the accountant points out that a farthing remained -over, which was indivisible; and in dividing the gross income of the -benefices by ten, it was constantly recorded that there was a remainder of -so much, which was "undecimable." - -Very few new religious houses were founded after the thirteenth century; -the cause was not so much that the Statute of Mortmain interposed a check -to the free action of pious munificence, as that there was a general -recognition that enough had been done in this direction. The two thousand -chantries which had been founded in the two centuries probably did not -average L5 a year income, and did not swell the general income by so much -as L10,000 a year. The parochial benefices are seen, by actual comparison -of the figures, to have increased in nominal amount of income, but the -purchasing value of money had decreased, so that the real value of the -benefices was probably somewhat less. The produce of the annual tenths -would seem to indicate that the income of the Church had largely -diminished, for whereas we have seen that by the "Taxatio" of 1291 it -amounted to L20,000, we learn, from a letter of Henry VII., to the Bishop -of Chichester, that it had fallen by that time to L10,000; the Bishop of -Oxford[425] attributes this to the multiplication of exemptions, -especially of livings under ten marks. - -One valuable feature of the "Valor" is the schedules of incomings and -outgoings of the livings, and the incidental notices contained in them, -which give glimpses of the economy of the parishes. - -We give first one example, which is expressed in English, at full length, -as a clue to the meaning of the more abbreviated form in which some others -are given. - -From the "Valor Ecclesiasticus," vol. vi. p. 2:-- - - Compotus of Wm. Richardson "Vicegerent" of John Emott rector, of his - benefice of Brancaster in 1535. - - First in glebe land, x acr', by the yearly value of vj. - - Item in whete, xx cube [cumbes]. - - Item in myxteleyn, xl cube. - - Item in barley, xx cube. - - Item in pes, fetches, and oots (pease, vetches, and oats), xvj cube. - - Item in woll, xvj ston. - - Item in lambs, l. - - Item y{e} offering of iiij days, xxiiij_s._ - - Item in odyr offerings of other days, xx_s._ - - Item in lactage and p'vy (privy) tythes, xxxvj_s._ - - Item in hempe, hony, and waxe, iiij_s._ - - Item in pygyns, vj_s._ viij_d._ - - Item in gyse and chekyns, iij_s._ iiij_d._ - - Item in tythe piggs, iiij_s._ - - Item in eggys, iij_s._ - - Item in saffron, j li. - - Theys ben y{e} pcells y{e} wych y{e} sayd John Emott psun of Brancast' - aske y{e} allowance of - - _s._ _d._ - - Fyrst in porcions to the monasty of Ramsey xl - - Item to psun of Bebdale xxvj viij - - Item to sexton in y{e} monasty aforsaid xiij iiij - - Item in poxys (proxies) vij vijob. - - Item in sinage (elsewhere senage and synage, - vol. v. 182, probably payment at synods) ij - - William Richardson Curat' there affirms the said rectory to be of the - annual value altogether of:-- - - GALFUS WORLE Const' } L _s._ _d._ - GILBTUS SMYTH } } Affirm _xxix_ _ii_ _xiob._ - RIC CLERK } Parishioners } as _xxvi_ _ii_ _xiob._ - JOHIS CRANE } } above. xxviij ix vijob. - -Here are some examples taken from various localities; first, a country -rural deanery:-- - - Deanery of Pershore. Diocese of Worcester. ("Valor," iii. p. 263.) - - Rectory of Kington, glebe, 3_s._ 4_d._; private tithe at Easter, - 10_s._; oblations on the 4 principal feasts, 2_s._ 8_d._; tithe of - corn and hay, L6 13_s._ 4_d._; various small tithes, 17_s._; total, L8 - 6_s._ 4_d._ - - R. of Broughton Hakett, tithe of corn and hay, L7 2_s._ 8_d._; lambs - and wool, 5_s._ 6_d._; other tithe, 11_s._ 6_d._; 4 days, 2_s._ 10_d._ - (no pasch.); total, L8 2_s._ 6_d._ - - Vicarage of Hymulton, glebe, 6_s._ 8_d._; tithe of hay, etc., L2 6_s._ - 0_d._; Easter, 42_s._ 2_d._; 4 days, 20_s._; pension from prior of W., - 53_s._ 4_d._; total, L8 8_s._ 10_d._ - - R. of Churchelenche, glebe, 32_s._ 4_d._; tithe, L5 14_s._ 11_d._; - Easter, 33_s._ 11_d._; 4 days, 13_s._ 6_d._; total, L9 14_s._ 8_d._ - - V. of Byshampton, glebe, 20_s._; tithe, 54_s._; pension, 40_s._; - Easter, 30_s._; 4 days, 13_s._ 4_d._; total, L7 17_s._ 4_d._ - - R. of Segebarowe, glebe, 30_s._; tithe, L15 11_s._ 6_d._; Easter, - 12_s._ 3-1/2_d._; 4 days, 6_s._ 3_d._; total, L15 0_s._ 0-1/2_d._ - - R. of Grafton Flyford, glebe, 66_s._; tithe, L16 14_s._ 5-1/2_d._; - Easter, 21_s._ 5_d._; 4 days, 7_s._ 7_d._; total, L20 10_s._ 5-1/2_d._ - -Next to take a town--Droitwich. - - Town of Wyche. ("Valor," vol. iii. p. 268.) - - Rectory of Whitton in the town of Wyche, glebe, 14_s._ 1_d._; tithe, - 75_s._ 8_d._; In libro compot pascal,[426] 8_s._ 8_d._; 4 days, 4_s._; - total, L5 2_s._ 5_d._ - - R. of St. Andrew in the town of Wyche, tithe, 19_s._ 6_d._; Easter, - 40_s._; 4 days, 14_s._; total, L3 13_s._ 6_d._ - - R. of St. Nicholas in the town of Wyche, tithe, 46_s._ 8_d._; Easter, - 33_s._ 4_d._; 4 days, 10_s._; total, L4 10_s._ - - Vicarage of St. Peter in the town of Wyche, tithe, 75_s._; Easter, - 40_s._; 4 days, etc., 1_s._; L6 7_s._ - - V. of Bromsgrove with chapel of Norton, in the town of Wyche, farm of - a garden, 2_s._; tithe, etc., L7 5_s._; Easter, L12; 4 days, 40_s._; - mortuaries, 1_s._; chapel tithe, L4; Easter, L16; total, L41 8_s._ - -It is worth while to note the proportion which the offerings bear to the -other sources of income, and to make a few notes upon them. We find the -customary offerings at the four seasons and at Easter, as enjoined in -Saxon times (see p. 71); only in some places, instead of the "oblationes -quatuor festorum," we find that the times had been reduced to three, as in -the rural deanery of Irchingfield, in the diocese of Hereford ("Valor," -iii. p. 19), where we find "oblationes ibidem III bus temporibus anni -usualibus"; or to two, as at Leeds, in the diocese of York, "oblationes -duo' dierum ibid' consuet'." The Easter offering was the more important; -it is spoken of in various ways, "Decima privata in Festo Paschae," "Decimae -personaliae vocatae Lenten Booke," "Decimae personaliae voc' le Estre Booke," -"In libro Paschali," "In Rotulo Paschali," "In Rotulo -Quadragesimali,"[427] "Lent Decimae," and "Oblationes in Pasch'." - -In settling the vicarages these fees were usually assigned to the vicar, -and in town parishes the appropriators often left the vicar very little -besides to live upon. We give a few examples taken at random in -illustration of these remarks:-- - - The Vicarage of Leeds, a house and garden valued at 15_s._ 8_d._; - tithes of lambs and wool, L13; Lent tithes and oblations in Pasch', - L26; oblations of two days _ibid' consuet'_, L4 10_s._; oblations - within the church, L4 6_s._ 8_d._; oblations of a chapel of the - Blessed Virgin Mary, 3_s._ 4_d._; total, L48 15_s._ 8_d._[428] - - The Vicarage of Sheffield, a house and garden valued at 10_s._; tithe - of wool and lambs, 36_s._; oblations, L6 18_s._; Easter Book, L4; - small tithe, 2_s._ 8_d._; total, L13 6_s._ 8_d._[429] - - The Vicarage of Huddersfield, house and garden, 3_s._ 4_d._; tithes of - wool, 60_s._; of lambs, 64_s._; oblations, L4 11_s._ 8_d._; small and - private tithe, L9 18_s._ 0-1/2_d._; total, L20 17_s._ 0-1/2_d._[430] - - The Church of Doncaster, at the end of the thirteenth century,[431] - was a rectory, held in two medieties; but in the course of the - following centuries both medieties had been appropriated to the Abbey - of St. Mary at York, which appointed a vicar. The vicar had a house - and garden, valued at 6_s._ 8_d._, and an annual pension from St. - Mary's, _in pecunia numerata_, of L33 6_s._ 8_d._[432] - - The income of the three churches in Nottingham--[433] - - St. Mary. Mansion and glebe, 30_s._; tithe of bread and ale, 26_s._ - 8_d._; tithe of wool and lambs, L4; tithe of geese, pigs, and fowls, - 20_s._; of fruits, 20_d._; in Easter tithes, 60_s._ In the whole, L10 - 18_s._ 4_d._ - - St. Peter. Mansion, 6_s._ 8_d._; personal tithes, L6 13_s._ 4_d._; - oblations, 26_s._ 8_d._; tithe of bread and ale, 13_s._ 4_d._; of - fowls and eggs, 14_d._; of pigs, 6_s._ 8_d._; of chrisom cloths in - _pannis crismalibus_,[434] 3_s._ 4_d._; oblations on the feast of the - Purification, 3_s._ In the whole, L9 14_s._ 2_d._ - - St. Nicholas. Mansion and garden, 8_s._; a house, 8_s._; oblations, - 13_s._ 4_d._; Easter tithes, 36_s._; tithe of bread and ale, 2_s._ - 6_d._; tithe of pigs, fowls, and geese, 6_s._; of fruits, 3_s._ 7_d._; - tithe of flax and hemp, 3_s._; eggs _et pannorum crismalium_, 3_s._ In - the whole, L4. - - Bingham Rectory. Mansion and land, 48_s._; three houses, 18_s._ 8_d._; - a pigeon-house, 13_s._ 4_d._; oblations of the three days, 20_s._; - Easter tithes, 46_s._ 8_d._; tithe of eggs, 3_s._; pigs and geese, - 20_s._; fowls, 3_s._; wool and lambs, 100_s._; hay, 20_s._; corn, L30; - flax and hemp, 5_s._ In the whole, L44 19_s._ 4_d._ - -Here follows a case in which the personal tithe, that is, the Easter -offering, due from each principal parishioner, is set forth in detail:-- - - Vicarage of Cowarne Magna gives Decimis psonalibus an{it} videlit de - Thoma Scull 6_s._, Johne ap Madoke 4_d._, and four others at 4_d._ - each; villat' de Locatt 8_s._ 7_d._, Villat' de Hopton 6_s._ 2_d._; - Villat' de Bache 3_s._ 1-1/2_d._ and five other villatae, amounting to - L10 1_s._ 5_d._; oblations at the four accustomed times 14_s._ 8_d._; - Lez crysoms 12_d._ Candles offered in die Pur' Bte Marie; Denar' - oblat' cum pane benedicta 2_s._ 6_d._[435] - - The V. of Frome also mentions "lez crysoms" and offerings both at the - Cross at Easter and on the other Paschal days. - - R. of Estnor mentions "oblationes tam ad fontem benedict' 20_s._," and - ad crucem in die Parescheue 6_d._, quam al' oblacon' accustumat' - an{ti} 13_s._ 4_d._ unacum le bede roll' 16_d._ and debit' pascalibz - 23_s._ 4_d._[436] - - The Rector of Streteford[437] was indebted oblacionibus Ste Cosme et - Damiane, 40_s._ 5_d._ He probably had a relic of the Physician Saints - in his church, and the people resorted to it for cure of maladies. - -The compotus of the vicarage of Newark, Notts, is worth giving at full -length:-- - - The Vicar of Newark returns his income from "tiethe chekens, doves, - gowse, piggs, apples, peares, worth a yere xl{s} iij; offering daies, - viz. All Saynts' Daie, Xremas Daie, and the Sondaie nexte after the - feaste of Mary Magdaleyn, iiij{li} vi{s}; personall tithes at Eastor, - xxj{li}; offerings at m'iages, purificacons of women, buryalls, wi{t} - other casualties, iij{li} iv{s}.; total, L30 10_s._ Whereof to the - archebushopp of Yorke for synage, xvij{s} vi{d}; to the archedeacon of - Nottingham for procuracons, xvij{s} vi{d}; for waxe spent in the svice - time in the churche, xvj{s} ix{d}; for wyne the ole yere and at Eastor - spent in the churche, xvij{s} vi{d}; for oyle spent in the lampe in - the queyre day and night, ix{s}; for breade and franckingsence, ij{s} - viij{d}; for bell-strings, iiij{d}, and for the stipend of thone of - the parryshe preistes, v{li}. Total, L21 5_s._ 1_d._"[438] - -Some special sources of income which occur here and there are worth -notice:-- - - The Vicar of Leominster has the herbage of the cemeteries of the - church and chapels; the tithes of the bakers and taverners within the - borough. Mass pennies and candle oblations, and oblations for the - blessed bread on the Lord's days.[439] - -The case of Lenton, Notts, has also features of special interest. It was -appropriated to the Prior of Lenton:--[440] - - Richard Matthew, vicar there. Is worth for his house there, and with - an acre of land, by the year, 6_s._ 8_d._; for Easter tithes, 54_s._; - for offerings on the three days, 12_s._; for offerings at marriages, - churchings, and burials, one year with another, 5_s._; for oblations - on Sundays, 1-1/4_d._, amounting to 7_s._ 4_d._ a year; for a corrody - of bread and ale at the Priory of Lenton, every week 1_s._ 6_d._, - amounting to 78_s._ a year; and every day for food from the cook of - the said prior to the value of 1_d._, amounting to 30_s._ 5_d._ a - year; for tithe of wool and lambs, one year with another, 12_s._; for - pigs, geese, and fowls, 10_s._; for tithe of flax and hemp, 3_s._; for - tithe of fruits, one year with another, 12_s._; for grass and hay for - one horse, found by the said prior, 3_s._ 4_d._ a year; in the whole - L10 11_s._ 1-1/4_d._ Thence is paid annually to the said prior and his - successors for a certain pension, 28_s._ 8_d._ And there remains L9 - 2_s._ 6-1/4_d._ - -We began with a return from a curate in sole charge of the parish of an -absentee rector. Here is the case of a non-resident rector who lets his -benefice to farm:-- - - Tunstall, Kent. The certificate of Sir Symon Jenyns, parson there, - made by Symon Spacherst, his farmer:-- - - First, the same Symon Spacherst payeth to the said parson yearly L8. - Item paid to the priest for his wages, L6 13_s._ 4_d._, making L14 - 13_s._ 4_d._ Whereof deducted for proxies[441] yearly 5_s._, leaving - clear annual value, L14 8_s._ 4_d._ - -We take up now the question which was postponed from the preceding -chapter, of the value of money at various periods during the Middle Ages -compared with its value in our times, and especially at the period of the -"Taxatio," A.D. 1292, and at the period of the "Valor," A.D. 1534. The -comparative value of a given income at the two periods depends upon two -things: first, upon the purchasing power of a pound at the end of the -thirteenth century, and again at the middle of the sixteenth century -compared with the present day; and, second, upon the style of living at -the several periods. - -First, as to the comparative purchasing power, it is not an easy question -to determine. The late Mr. Thorold Rogers has given an immense mass of -data[442] for its determination, but he has not conferred upon students -the advantage of a table of comparative values for certain dates. In -default of this, we fall back upon other conclusions drawn from similar -collections of materials. Hallam, in his "History of Europe," arrives at -the conclusion that "we can hardly take a less multiple than about thirty -for animal food, and eighteen or twenty for corn, in order to bring the -prices of the thirteenth century to a level with those of the present -day. Combining the two, and setting the comparative dearness of cloth -against the cheapness of fuel and many other articles, we may perhaps -consider any given sum under Henry III. and Edward I. as equivalent in -general command over commodities to about twenty-four or twenty-five times -its normal value at present;" and again, "In the time of Edward I., an -income of L10 or L20 a year was reckoned a competent estate for a -gentleman; at least the lord of a single manor would seldom have enjoyed -more." The same writer says, "Sixteen will be a proper multiple, when we -would bring the general standard value of money in the reign of Henry VI. -to our present standard." Dean Milman, speaking of payments in 1344, says, -without giving reason or quoting authority, "Multiply by fifteen to bring -to present value."[443] Froude says, "A penny in terms of the labourer's -necessities must have been equal in the reign of Henry VIII. to the -present shilling;" and adopts "the relative estimate of twelve to one," as -generally representing the comparative value of money at that period. The -Rev. Dr. Cunningham, formerly professor of Economic Science, K.C.L., -kindly replying to a question on the subject, says, "For 1535, I should -say that a penny was worth at least a shilling in the present day. I could -not give a guess of any value as to the change between 1291 and 1535. At -the former date I fancy the values were estimates, and that the actual -receipts were chiefly in kind." We have ventured to take, as approximate -multiples, twelve times for the date of the "Taxatio" (A.D. 1291), and -twenty-four times for the "Valor" (A.D. 1535). - -But the comparative position of the parochial clergy, as of all other -classes of society, at these two periods, and at the present day, depends -not only on the amount of money which they received yearly, and on the -quantity of things which it would purchase, but also on the style of -living at the periods compared. In those times the houses of the smaller -gentry were rudely but substantially built of timber, and did not involve -frequent repairs. A little carving on the roof timbers of the hall--the -one living room--was a permanent decoration, which never needed renewing; -a high table of oak, with a great chair for the master, boards and -trestles for the other tables, benches to sit upon, and a few stools, were -the sufficient furniture; a little tapestry on the walls, a few bankers -(cushions on the benches), made quite a luxurious furnishing; and green -rushes strewed upon the floor supplied the place of carpets. The furniture -of the rest of the house was rude and substantial. Clothing, among all the -middle classes, was durable, and was worn for years; one or two better -garments, worn only on great occasions, lasted for a lifetime. The whole -mode of life of the middle classes was simple and homely to a degree which -we can hardly believe. They were early to rise, and lived an outdoor life, -the labouring men in field-work, the farmers not only overlooking the -work, but putting their hands to it; the squires looking sharply after -their own estates, and spending their leisure in field sports. The food -was simple but abundant; air and exercise gave hearty appetites for homely -fare, and early to bed saved light and firing. - -The result was that a much smaller income enabled a man to hold his -position in society.[444] In 1253, Henry III. issued an edict that whoever -had estates of L15 yearly value should be made knights.[445] In the second -year of Henry V. (1415), an Act of Parliament fixed L20 a-year as the -income which qualified a man to be a Justice of the Peace. - -A country rector, therefore, could hold his position in relation to his -farmers, and his squire, and his country neighbours, on an income which -seems to us wonderfully small; and the vicar and parish chaplain with L5 -a-year did not seem to his neighbours of any degree to be in a condition -of degrading poverty. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -DOMESTIC CHAPELS. - - -The Byzantine emperors first set up a private chapel in their houses; -kings followed their example, and the nobles followed the example of their -kings; and there was a danger of the clergy of these chapels, supported by -their lords, making themselves independent of the oversight of the -bishops, and of the worship of the rich being separated from the worship -of the poor.[446] In 692, the second Trullan Council decreed that no -clergyman should perform the rite of baptism or celebrate the Eucharist in -such a chapel without the bishop's permission. Gregory the Great gives -licence for the consecration of an oratory which Firmilian, a notary, has -built on his farm outside the city of Fermo, on condition that there shall -not be a baptistery or _cardinalem presbyterum_, a titled parish -priest.[447] The Council of Clermont, 535, decreed that on Sundays and -festivals all should come to church, and not invite priests to their -houses to say mass. - -[Illustration: Conisborough Castle. 10. The Chapel.] - -The great Saxon nobles had chapels in their houses and private chaplains. -Their chaplains are sometimes named in their wills, _e.g._ Queen -Ethelfleda, c. 972, leaves "4 hides of land to her reeve, 2 to her page, -and 2 to each of her priests." Lotgiva gives legacies "to Ailric my -household priest, and to Ailric my page."[448] Some of them Roger of -Wendover accuses of hearing in bed the daily mass said by their -chaplains.[449] With the Norman nobles the custom was universal; of the -numerous castles of the Norman period which remain to us, we do not call -to mind one which has not a chapel in the keep-tower. They differ in size, -from an oratory contained within the thickness of the wall, as at -Conisboro' and at Brougham, to a church forming a prominent feature of the -plan and elevation, as at the White Tower, London, and at Colchester. - -The chapel in the White Tower is the largest of the series. It is situated -on the principal (first) floor, and under it on the ground floor is a -kind of crypt. It has a nave with aisles, and a chancel with circular -apse. Gundulph of Rochester, who was its architect, gave great importance -to the chapel by projecting its round apse beyond the line of the east -wall like a great semicircular bastion, the only break in the massive -quadrangular plan. The keep of Colchester Castle, no doubt by the same -architect, is exactly on the same plan, only that the chapel is without -aisles. - -In the keeps of Rochester, Newcastle, Hedingham, Middleham, and others, a -commodious chapel, with handsome ornamentation of zigzag arch mouldings -and vaulted roof, is contained in the annex to the keep, which defends the -great stone stair leading to the principal floor. It is very probable that -where the keep had only a small oratory there was always a larger chapel -in the castle bailey[450] for the general inhabitants of the castle, for -in later times we commonly find an oratory for the lord and another for -the lady, and a chapel besides. - -In the Edwardian castles, the chapel is a constant feature. Conway affords -a good example; there it is on the south side of the outer court, and the -chaplain's room is in the adjoining tower. There are also, in the inner -court adjoining the state apartments, two small elegant oratories, one -called the king's and the other the queen's. There are other examples at -Beaumaris, Kidwelly, etc. Usually a small vestry and a priest's chamber -communicate directly with the chapel. - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE OF COUNT WALERAN DE ST. POL WITH THE SISTER OF -RICHARD, KING OF ENGLAND. ROYAL 14, E. IV., f. 30.] - -In the great houses of the nobles down to the end of the mediaeval period, -the chapel is as universal a feature as the hall or the great -chamber.[451] The chapels at Ightham Mote, Kent; at Bodiam, Sussex; at the -Vyne, Hampshire; and at Wolsey's Palace at Hampton Court, are fine -examples. The still perfect chapel of Haddon Hall is in all respects like -an ordinary village church, with font and pulpit. The College Chapels of -Oxford and Cambridge, of Eton and Winchester, and of all the other -mediaeval colleges and schools, the chapels of the Episcopal Palaces at -Winchester, Farnham, Lambeth, etc., are all normal examples of the -architectural features and furniture of the domestic chapels, and their -services are examples of the manners and customs of the chapel services of -the greater mediaeval houses. - -The western end of the chapel is sometimes divided into two stories, both -opening upon the sacrarium; the upper story was usually intended for the -family, and the lower for the domestics. Sometimes the chapel on the -principal floor has, besides its internal approaches, an external stone -stair by which people from other parts of the house could enter the chapel -without passing through the house, as at the fourteenth-century houses of -Inceworth (?) and Earth, both in Cornwall. - -The principal residence of a great noble needed a chapel of considerable -size to accommodate the number of people, as numerous as the population of -a country parish or a small town, who were gathered into the castle during -the residence of its lord:--the lord's household of knights and squires, -yeomen and pages; his lady's separate household of ladies, bower-women, -and women in various kinds of service; the garrison of the castle, with -its commanders of knightly degree, their squires, men-at-arms, yeomen, and -grooms; the several staffs which looked after the various departments of -the service, the chambers, kitchens, stables, kennels, and mews; besides a -constant flow of visitors, with their complex trains of guards and -attendants. - -In England only the chief royal houses have maintained the mediaeval -dignity of their ecclesiastical domestic establishments. Windsor Castle, -besides its oratory, has its noble chapel dedicated to St. George the -Patron Saint of England,[452] and its establishment of dean and canons, -singing men and boys, housed in a picturesque group of collegiate -buildings arranged round several cloistered courts. The Tower of London, -besides its chapel in the White Tower, has its church of St. Peter ad -Vincula in the courtyard. - -Many of the great nobles, who maintained a state little inferior to that -of royalty, had their chapel establishment of proportionate dignity. In -the opinion of that time, a man of great rank and estate owed it to the -glory of God that the worship of his household should be offered with -circumstances of solemn splendour; he owed it to the well-being of the -numerous people who depended upon him; and to the still more numerous -people of all estates, who looked to him for an example. - -The Duke of Buckingham's house at Thornbury had a chaplain, eighteen -clerks of the chapel, and nine boys.[453] - -The household book of Henry Algernon, the fifth Earl of Northumberland, -who was born in 1477, and died in 1527, gives us very full details of the -organization of the chapel staff of a great nobleman, their duties, and -their emoluments in money and kind. They consisted of a dean, who was to -be a D.D., or LL.D., or B.D., and ten other priests, eleven gentlemen, and -six children who composed the choir.[454] The secular duties which were -assigned to some of them will perhaps be better understood by a reference -to the past. The clergy had always been the advisers of the English kings -and nobles in the ordinary affairs of life: the Archbishop of Canterbury -was the king's official chief counsellor till long after the Norman -Conquest. Every ealdorman and great thane probably had a learned clerk in -his house, not only as a chaplain, but as an adviser in general affairs. -Henry II. organized his domestic religious establishment into a Department -of State, and used Churchmen in the civil administration as ministers, -ambassadors, and judges--there were none others so capable. The nobles -were following on the same lines, when they made one chaplain steward, -another secretary, and another tutor, in addition to their not burdensome -duties in the maintenance of Divine worship. So the people resorted to -their parish priest to advise them in their domestic difficulties and -extraordinary matters of business, to arbitrate in their differences, and -make their wills, for the simple natural reason of his wider knowledge of -affairs, his greater experience of mankind, his disinterestedness, and, -not least, his sacred character. - -In the castles of less noble and wealthy persons it is not uncommon to -find that there were several chaplains organized into a college of secular -priests, as at Colchester, Exeter, Hastings, Pontefract, etc., and not -infrequently endowed out of the rectories in the lord's gift. In some -instances the lord of numerous estates endowed the chapel of his principal -castle with the churches upon all his estates, as at Colchester, -Clitheroe, etc. The intention probably was not so much to enrich the -chaplain or form an endowment for the collegiate staff of the chapel, as -to make the castle chapel the mother church of the village churches on the -surrounding estates; just as the seneschal of the castle was the superior -officer of the bailiffs of the various manors; and so to concentrate the -ecclesiastical administration of all the estates, as well as their civil -administration, under the eye of the lord and his most trusted agents. - -Sometimes, on the other hand, the lord gave the service of the castle -chapel into the hands of some neighbouring monastery (probably of his own -founding), as at Colchester to the Abbey of St. John, at Brecon to the -Priory of Brecon. When Robert de Haia, in 1120, founded the Priory of -Boxgrove, Sussex, he stipulated that he should choose one of the canons to -officiate in the chapel of his neighbouring manor house of Holnaker. So -Sir Ralph de Eccleshall, _temp._ Edward I., gave his mill, etc., to the -monks of Beauchief, who covenanted in return to find him a priest for his -chapel at Eccleshall. They stipulated, however, that in floods or snow -they shall be excused from sending one of their canons to Eccleshall, but -may say the due masses in their own church at Beauchief. So the chapel of -the De Lovelot's castle at Sheffield was served by the canons of their -Priory of Worksop. - -The Collegiate Church of St. George within the royal castle of Windsor -had, and still has, an establishment consisting of a dean, twelve canons, -eight minor canons, eight vicars choral, and eight chorister boys.[455] -The Chapel of Wallingford Castle[456] was served by a dean, five -prebendaries, and a deacon. Tickhill had four prebendaries;[457] three was -a common number, as at Exeter, etc.; Pontefract had two. The chapel of -Bridgenorth Castle had a college of secular priests, and in later times -served as a parish church to the people of the borough. The castle chapels -at Nottingham and Skipton were rectories. The Castle Chapel at Kirby -Ravensworth had a chantry of two priests. - -The chapels of Skipton, Tutbury, and Stafford Castles are called "free -chapels." Of Skipton Castle Chapel certain liberties and duties of the -parson or chaplain were written in two mass-books, one new, the other old, -in one of which the earl granted that the said chaplain should have meat -and drink sufficient within the hall of the lord of the castle for him and -one garcon[458] with him. And if the lord be absent, and no house kept, he -and his successors shall have for every ten weeks one quarter of wheat and -vi_s._ viii_d._; and vi_d._ in money and one robe or gown yerely at ye -Nativity of o'r Lord, or xiii_s._ iv_d._ in monie. An inquisition of -Edward III. adds as part of the endowment one _cameram fenestratam_ (a -chamber with a window) and pasture for viii oxen, vi cows, and two horses, -and sufficient timber for repairing his house and chamber, and dry wood -for firing. At the dissolution of chantries and free chapels, it became a -question whether this was not a parsonage.[459] In other cases, the -chaplain had a definite endowment, which seems to have been calculated -upon the not very large income of a parish chaplain. The four chaplains of -Tickhill were endowed with L5 each; the chaplain of Nottingham Castle with -L5; the chaplain at Pleshey Castle, Essex, with L5;[460] the chaplain at -Denbeigh with L8, the foundation of the king; at Southampton with L10, -payable by Royal Letters out of the customs of that port. Probably in many -cases there was no endowment; the chapel was practically a "free chapel," -and the emoluments such as were agreed upon between the patron and his -nominee; these would naturally tend to become a customary payment and -perquisites; the Skipton agreement gives an instance of what was probably -customary: viz. a corrody for himself and a boy, and a small sum in money. - -The priest of the Chapel of Skelton Castle, Yorkshire, was, at the time of -the Suppression, only partly paid by Lady Conyers, 23_s._; and his stipend -was made up of payments from half a dozen other persons, from the 18_s._ -of R. Robinson, down to the 3_s._ 10_d._ of John Gyll, making a total of -L4 2_s._ 10_d._[461] - -The domestic chapels of the nobility and great men were always -consecrated, and had a perpetual licence for Divine service. - -Very probably, where there were several chaplains, they all served their -lord in various clerkly capacities. So Piers Plowman:-- - - Somme serven the Kyng, and the silver tellen - In chequer and chauncerie, challengen his dettes - Of wardes, and of wardemotes, weyes and theyves; - And some serven as servants lordes and ladies, - And in stede of stewardes sitten and demen. - -The domestic chaplain is frequently named in wills as a witness or an -executor, and not infrequently as a legatee; _e.g._ Giles de Gadlesmere, -knight, 1337, leaves to Wm. Ocham, clerk, 100 shillings, unless he be -promoted before my death; Wm. de Ocham is one of the witnesses to the -will.[462] - -We find in the "Valor Eccl." a considerable number of chantries recorded -as founded in the chapels of castles. There is doubt in some cases whether -these were the ordinary endowments of the chaplain, made under the name of -a Chantry, for reasons of legal convenience, or whether, in addition to -the ordinary chaplain, a special endowment had been made for mortuary -masses, and, if so, whether the ordinary chaplain was also the Cantarist -and received the chantry endowment in addition to his normal stipend. The -chaplain celebrating in the chapel of the Castle of Downhead received from -the grant of King Stephen L5 a year, and chaplain for celebrating mass -twice every week at Penhill, for the soul of the founder, L2 13_s._ -4_d._[463] There were chantries in the chapels of the castles of -Chester, Sherifhoton, Pickering, Malton, Pontefract, Penrith, Sandall, -Skelton, Whorleton, Kermerdenin in Wales, Durham, Barnard Castle, Tutbury, -Stafford, Wilton, Norham, Alnwick, etc. The lord of Bridgenorth Castle -arranged with the Dean and Canons of Windsor to supply a priest to -celebrate three days a week for the founder and King John. - -Any one might build an oratory in his house,[464] but Divine service, that -is the Holy Communion, might not be celebrated in it without the bishop's -permission. Towards the close of the thirteenth century, the lesser gentry -began to include a chapel in the plan of their manor houses, and the -custom seems to have become almost universal in the following centuries. -We may take it as an indication of a growing desire to maintain the -regular daily practice of religious worship in a seemly solemn way for -their families and households. - -In the valuable digest of the Exeter Registers, for which historical -students are much indebted to Canon Hingeston-Randolph, the licences -issued during the twenty-four years of Edmund Stafford's Episcopacy -(1395-1419) are arranged under the family names of the persons to whom -they were granted, and there are two hundred and seventy-two names. In -many cases the licence extends to all their mansions and manors in the -Diocese of Exeter; which gives a rough estimate of about three hundred -domestic chapels in the manor houses of the two counties of Devon and -Cornwall; if we multiply that figure by twenty-six, we get a rough -estimate of over seven thousand domestic chapels in England and Wales. - -All these domestic chapels, except those of royal houses[465] and of some -free chapels, were under the jurisdiction of the bishop, and a constant -and perhaps jealous oversight was maintained lest they should detract from -the general assembly of all the parishioners for united worship in the -parish church, or interfere with the pastoral position and rights of the -rectors of the parishes. People with interest at Rome sometimes obtain -their licence direct from the pope. There is an example of the king's -ambassador obtaining a batch of them in 1343, but they are granted with -strict limitations. - -Among the Constitutions of Archbishop Stratford, made at the Council of -London (1342), is one which even restricts the power of the bishops to -grant licences: it decrees that "all licences granted by the bishops for -celebrating mass in places not consecrated other than to noble men and -great men of the realm, and to persons living at a considerable distance -from the church, or notoriously weak or infirm, shall be void." The decree -goes on to say that "whosoever, against the prohibition of the canon, -shall celebrate mass in oratories, chapels, houses, or other places, not -consecrated, without having obtained the licence of the diocesan, shall be -suspended from the celebration of Divine service for the space of a -month."[466] - - Robert Fitz Aer, the second of the name (c. 1190-1195), gave to the - Convent of Haughmond certain lands on condition that they would have - Divine service performed in his Chapel of Withyford three days a week, - when he or his wife or their heirs were resident in the manor. All - festivals were excluded from the agreement, and the parishioners were - not to attend these services to the injury of the mother church.[467] - -Here is an early example of the foundation of a domestic chapel under the -guise of a chantry:-- - - Sir G. de Breaute, in right of Joane his wife, had liberty given him - by Robert Dean of St. Paul's, with the consent of Walter Niger, Vicar - of Navestock, Essex, to found a chapel and chantry in his court at - Navestock, provided he and his heirs maintained a chaplain at his own - charge, sworn to preserve the liberty of the mother church, and to pay - the vicar all the profits he should receive there, and admit none of - the parishioners to confession or other offices there under pain of - being suspended by the vicar. The founder also and the heirs of the - said Joane his wife, and whoever else had the said chapel in his - lordship, were also to be sworn to preserve the rights of the mother - church under like pain. In which chapel the chaplain was to administer - the mass only with Bread and Holy Water, forbearing all other holy - offices, saving that at Easter the founder and his wife and heirs, - together with his free servants and guests, were to be admitted to the - sacrament of the altar; but all his servants were to go to the mother - church throughout the year.[468] And for this grant the founder and - his wife and heirs were to give to the mother church two wax candles, - each weighing a pound, to be offered, one at the Purification, the - other at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, before - vespers.[469] - -Another similar example is the chapel at the Vyne, Hampshire. - - In the twelfth century, Robert, Dean of Sherburn, granted to William - FitzAdam and his heirs to build a chapel in the parish of St. Andrew, - Sherborne, for the use of himself, his wife, and his household. The - said Robert to provide the chaplain, who shall eat at William's table, - and receive a stipend for his services from Robert; saving the rights - of the mother church; and William FitzAdam and his wife to attend - worship, and receive communion at the parish church on Christmas, - Easter, Purification, Whitsunday, and St. Andrew's Day. - -The present chapel at the Vyne is a late perpendicular building, in a -perfect state of repair; with its ancient screens and stalls. It has an -anti-chapel over which was my lord's oratory; the two chambers for the -chaplain on the south side have been converted into mortuary chapels of -the time of Charles II.[470] - -From the time that the Bishop's Registers began, _i.e._ from the close of -the thirteenth century, down to the time of the Reformation, they abound -in entries of the granting of licences for oratories in private houses. -They run in a customary form,[471] setting forth that the licence is given -to a particular person by name, his wife and children, servants, and -guests, to have Divine offices said in the oratory of his house of -so-and-so; there is usually a clause that on Sundays and other festivals, -they shall go to their parish church, there to hear the Divine service; -and a further clause requiring that all fees and offerings shall be paid -to the priest. A licence was not given once for all; very much to the -contrary. Sometimes it was given during the pleasure of the bishop; -sometimes for one year; for two years; for three years; renewable from -time to time; sometimes for the period of the grantee's life. In the -Episcopal Registers of Exeter, a number of licences are registered to the -family of Bottreaux, which, when put together, give a glimpse of family -history, and illustrate the principles on which the licences were granted. -Licence to hold service in the chapel of St. Mary Magdalen, at Boswithguy -(the oratories are frequently named under the invocation of some saint), -appears in the second year of Bishop Stafford's Register, 1396, to -Elizabeth Bottreaux; and is renewed in 1398. In 1399, a general licence is -given to William, son of Sir William Bottreaux, Knight, and to Sir Ralph -Bottreaux, Knight, and to John and Anna, children of the said Sir William. -Again, in 1410, a general licence is given to William, "lord of -Bottreaux," his wife, and their sons and daughters. We conjecture that -this William died in the following year, and was succeeded by his son -John, for again, in 1411, a licence is given to John Bottreaux, and -Elizabeth his wife, for all their manors and mansions in the diocese.[472] - -Sometimes, perhaps it was when the manor house was at very inconvenient -distance from the parish church, the licence was given "omissa clausula -Volumus, etc.," _i.e._ without the restricting clause about Sundays and -other festivals. - -The Registry of Archbishop Walter Gray records grants in 1229 to Alberic -de Percy, to have a chaplain to celebrate Divine offices in the chapel of -Sutton so long as he lives; to Alexander de Vilers and his heirs to have -Divine offices in his chapel of Newbottle for his family and guests for -ever;[473] to Robert le Vavasour and his heirs, at his chapel of -Hindishal; in 1254, to S. de Heddon and his heirs in the chapel of his -court of Headdon.[474] - -In 1343, Thomas de Peckam obtained a bull from Pope Alexander, licensing -him, since in winter he cannot get to his parish church because of the -floods, that he may have Divine service in his chapel at Wyke.[475] - -Temporary licences were sometimes granted in special cases of temporary -sickness or chronic infirmity; Bishop Stapledon, in 1312, permits Dame -Isabella de Fishacre to have Divine service at home, not only on week days -but also on festivals when, through the inclemency of the weather or -bodily infirmity, she cannot conveniently attend the parish church. In -1317, in consideration of Sir Peter Fishacre's impotency, he is allowed to -have Divine service celebrated in his own chamber in his house of Lupton. -In 1310, Oliver de Halap, who is broken with age, and has lost the sight -of his eyes, _senio fractus et luminibus occulorum privatus_, is -compassionately allowed by the same considerate bishop to have Divine -service celebrated in his manor house of Hertleghe. - -The custom of having a domestic chaplain extended, in the latter part of -the period with which we have to do, not only to the majority of the -country gentry, but to wealthy yeomen and well-to-do citizens. Mere -country gentlemen sometimes maintained a considerable chapel -establishment. Henry Machyn, in his diary,[476] says, in noticing the -death, in 1552, of Sir Thomas Jarmyn, of Rushbrook Hall, that "he was the -best housekeeper in the county of Suffolk, and kept a goodly chapel of -singing men." - -Richard Burre, a wealthy yeoman and farmer of the parsonage of Souwntyng, -in 1529, directs in his will that "Sir Robert Beckton," my chaplain, syng -ffor my sowle by the space of ix. yers.[477] - -When Alderman Monmouth took Tyndale into his house, and "did promys him x -pounds sterling to praye for his father, mother, their soules and all -christen soules,"[478] he clearly engaged that greatest of the translators -of the Bible as his domestic chaplain. It was very natural, and no doubt -usual, that special services for the deceased members of the family should -be celebrated in the chapel of the house, and by the chaplain of the -family. Not infrequently a chantry was founded in domestic chapels; _e.g._ -"Thomas de Ross, lord of Hamelak and Belvoir, 1412, leaves 400{li} for ten -chaplains to say mass, etc., in his chapel of Belvoir for eight -years."[479] - -Some further examples of it will be found in the chapter on chantries and -chantry-priests. - -Mr. Christopher Pickering, in his will, dated 1542, leaves "to my sarvands -John Dobson and Frances, xx_s._ a-piece, besydes ther wages; allso I give -unto Sir James Edwarde, my sarvand," etc.[480] One of the witnesses to the -will is "Sir James Edwarde, preste," so that the person whom Mr. Pickering -describes as his servant seems to have been his domestic chaplain. Sir -Thomas More says "every man has a priest to wait upon his wife;" so -Nicholas Blackburn, a wealthy citizen of York, and twice Lord Mayor, -leaves in 1431-2 a special bequest to his wife, "to find her a -gentlewoman, and a priest, and a servant."[481] - - * * * * * - -We have seen that the lord of the house usually selected his own chaplain, -and made his own arrangements with him on the subject of remuneration, -which most likely consisted of his lodging in the chaplain's chamber and -his board at the lord's table, and a fixed sum of money, as at Skipton. -But there were cases in which the chaplain was nominated by some outside -authority, as the rector or vicar of the parish, as in the case of the -Vyne, as if to lessen the likelihood of friction between the parish priest -and the chaplain of the manor house. - - * * * * * - -The frequent occurrence of licences to solemnize the marriage of specified -persons in the chapel of the bride's home shows that then, as now, a -special licence was required for such occasions. - - 7 Sep., 1363. Licence for a marriage between Sir Andrew Lutterel, - Knt., and Hawise Despencer, to be solemnized by Thos. Abbot of Bourne - and the Vicar of Bourne, in the chapel of Lady Blanche Wake of Lidell, - within her castle of Bourne.[482] - - 4 Aug., 1417. Licence to Eliz. de Beaumont, for marriage between Wm. - Lord Deyncourt and Elizabeth, daughter of the said Elizabeth, to be - celebrated in the chapel of Beaumanoir, in the parish of Barowe.[483] - - 1457. Henry, son of Humphrey Duke of Buckingham, was licensed, by the - Bishop of Lichfield, to be married in the chapel of Maxstoke Castle to - his cousin Margaret, Countess of Richmond.[484] - - A licence to solemnize a marriage in the chapel of the manor house of - Homesid House, Durham, was given in 1500, on account of bad weather - and the infirmity of the parents of the bride.[485] - -In the following case a license was not asked for, because the marriage -was uncanonical:-- - - In 1434, process was issued against Thomas Grene of Norton by - Toucester, Knight, for clandestine marriage with Marnia Belers, - _co'matre sue_ (co-sponsors), in the private chapel within the house - of Ric. Knyghtley at Ffarvesley, in the presence of Ric. Knyghtley and - his son and other witnesses.[486] - -The clergy[487] sometimes had a domestic chapel in their houses, but even -they were carefully restricted as to the when, and where, and how they -might celebrate the Divine service in them. - - In the life of J. de Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter, 1327, we read that - in the earlier part of his career, while still Archdeacon of - Nottingham, in 1326, he was sent as nuncio by the pope into France and - England. He writes to the pope that he is so overwhelmed with business - that he prays for leave for himself and his people to have mass said - before daylight. The pope grants it, but desires that the permission - be rarely used, because since the Son of God _qui candor est lucis - aeternae_ is immolated in the service of the mass, such a sacrament - ought not to be celebrated in the darkness, but in the light.[488] - - In the register of Bishop Grandisson, in 1328, is the record of a - licence, only "during pleasure," to the Rector of Southpole (?), for - an oratory _infra mansum rectoriae tuae_.[489] - - 1404. Licence to the Rector of Wodemancote to have service in his - house for one year, on account of infirmity.[490] - -These domestic chapels were thoroughly furnished with every usual ornament -and appliance in a style of sumptuousness proportionate to the rank and -means of the master of the house. From the Household Book of the Earl of -Northumberland we gather that his chapel had three altars, and that my -lord and my lady had each a closet, _i.e._ an oratory, in which were -other altars. The chapel was furnished with hangings, and had a pair of -organs. The service books were so famous for their beauty that, on the -earl's death, Cardinal Wolsey intimated his wish to have them. There is -mention, too, of suits of vestments, and single vestments, copes and -surplices, and altar cloths for the five altars. All these things were -under the care of the yeoman of the vestry, and were carried about with -the earl at his removals from one to another of his houses. - -Catalogues of the furniture of the smaller domestic chapels are numerous -in the inventories attached to ancient wills; two may be given here as -examples-- - - Lady Alice West, of Hinton Marcel, Hants, 1395, bequeaths to her son - Thomas, "a pair of matins bookes and a pair of bedas," and to her - daughter Iohane, a masse book and all the books that I have of Latin, - English, and French, out-take the foresaid mattins books bequeathed to - Thomas. Also all my vestments of my chappel with the towels belonging - to the altar, and my tapites white and red paled,[491] and blue and - red paled, with all my green tapites that belong to my chappel - aforesaid, and with the frontals of the aforesaid altar, and with all - the curtains and trussing coffers, and all other apparele that belong - to my chapel. Also a chalice and paxbrede and holy-water pot with the - sprinklers; two cruets, two chandeliers, two silver basins for the - altar with scutcheons of my ancestors' arms, and a sacring bell, and - all of silver. Also a table depainted of three (a triptych).[492] - -In the inventories of the will of John Smith, Esq., of Blackmore, Essex, -in 1543-- - - In the chapel chamber, a long setle joyned. In the chapel, one aulter - of joyner's work. Item, a table with two leaves of the passion gilt [a - panelled diptych]. Item, a long setle of wainscott. Item, a bell - hanging over the chapel. Chapel stuff, copes and vestments three. - Aulter fronts four, corporal case one, and dyvers peces of silk - necessary for cusshyons v. - -The altar vessels are not specially mentioned; they were probably included -with the other silver, and the altar candlesticks among the "xiiiij latyn -candlestics of dyvers sorts," mentioned elsewhere. - - * * * * * - -It is a very pleasant feature in the daily life of the manor house of -mediaeval England which is brought home to us by these studies of ancient -domestic architecture and these dry extracts from Episcopal Registers. By -the latter part of the fourteenth century it would seem that nearly every -manor house had a chapel, and a resident chaplain. Divine services--Matins -and mass before breakfast, and evensong before dinner--were said every -day; and when the solemn worship of Almighty God held so conspicuous a -place in the daily family life, it is not possible that it should not have -exercised an influence upon the character and habits of the people; for -the family and household really attended the service as a part of the -routine of daily duty. There are numerous incidental allusions in the -course of historical narratives which prove it. Robert of Gloucester says -of William the Conqueror-- - - In church he was devout enow, for him none day abide - That he heard not Mass and Matins, and Evensong and each tide. - -The story that William Rufus, before he succeeded to the throne, was first -attracted to William of Corboil by the rapidity with which he got through -the mass, indicates that even that graceless prince submitted to the -irksome restraint of the universal custom. And the stories about Hunting -Masses, in which chaplains omitted everything but the essentials of the -Divine service, afford the same sort of confirmation.[493] - -The Romance of King Arthur is not often quoted as an historical authority, -but romances are a picture of contemporary manners and customs, and may be -so far depended upon; and this daily service in the castles and manor -houses of the Middle Ages is one of the facts of the life of the time -which is abundantly illustrated in them. Allusions such as the following -are frequent: "And so they went home and unarmed them, and so to evensong -and supper. And on the morrow they heard mass, and after went to dinner -and to their counsel, and made many arguments what were best to do."[494] - -And in the "Vision of Piers Plowman" we read (Passus v)-- - - The king and his knights to the church wenten, - To hear matins and mass, and to the meat after. - -The imagination rests with pleasure on the ordinary orderly life of a -mediaeval squire's manor house, sweetened by this domestic religion; on the -kindly influence of a pious, sensible chaplain over the whole household, -the adviser of the lord, the tutor of the children, the monitor of the -domestics. We linger upon the idea of the comfort of it to the widowed -Lady Bottreaux, and to the infirm old Sir Peter Fishacre, and to poor old -Oliver de Halap, "broken with age, and deprived of the sight of his eyes." - -We may add an illustrative note, which, though of later date, is true to -the habits of this earlier period. - -"For many years together I was seldom or never absent from Divine service -(in church) at five o'clock in the morning in summer, and six o'clock in -the winter." And, again, "at Naworth, the house of Sir Charles Howard, -afterwards Earl of Carlisle, there was a chaplain in the house, an -excellent preacher, who had service twice every Sunday in the chapel, and -daily prayers morning and evening, and was had in such veneration by all -as if hee had been their tutelar angel" [which did not prevent him from -making love to the eldest daughter of the house, and making mischief for -the autobiographer].[495] - - By the statute 21 Hen. VIII. c. 13, a limit was set to the number of - domestic chaplains. An archbishop might have 8 chaplains; a duke, 6; - marquis and earl, 5; viscount, 4; bishop, 6; chancellor, baron, and - knight of the garter, 3; duchess, marchioness, countess, and baroness, - being widows, 2; treasurer and controller of the king's house, the - king's secretary, the dean of the chapel, the king's almoner, the - master of the rolls, 2; the chief justice of the king's bench, and - warden of the cinque ports, 1. Proviso, that the king's chaplains may - hold as many livings as the king shall give. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE CHANTRY. - - -The characteristic feature of the Church work of the seventh century was -the conversion of the Teutonic heathen people who had conquered the -eastern half of England, and the foundation of a bishopric in every one of -the heptarchic kingdoms; of the eighth century, the multiplication of -monastic centres of evangelization; of that and the succeeding centuries -the spread of the parochial system of a priest for each manor; of the -twelfth century, the foundation of monasteries; of the thirteenth century, -the foundation of vicarages in the appropriated parishes, and the -institution of the new Order of friars; of the fourteenth and fifteenth -centuries, the foundation of chantries: during these two centuries about -two thousand chantries were founded. - -A chantry is a foundation for the maintenance of one or more priests, to -offer up prayers for the soul of the founder, his family and ancestors, -and usually of all Christian souls; and this was the motive of the -founders of the majority of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. - -In the Religious Foundations of earlier times the condition of prayers for -the donors was incidental. A man did not build a church for his _ville_ or -found a monastery on his estate, with the sole or principal view of -securing perpetual prayers for himself; but in accordance with the -religious views of those times when a man did found any pious work, from a -great monastery intended to be a nursery of saints to an almshouse for -twelve poor people, he asked--he stipulated in the terms of his foundation -deed--for the prayers of the members of his foundation. It would have -looked like a want of proper religious feeling had he neglected to seek -the benefit of their intercessory prayers. The desire for the prayers of -the Church by those who could not found monasteries or build churches, -found its satisfaction in benefactions to religious foundations, which -secured for the donors the privileges of confraternity, and among these, -the prayers of the community.[496] Every religious house had its catalogue -of benefactors, or its list of confraters; and the grateful convent -offered prayers for their good estate while living and the repose of their -souls after death.[497] At Durham there lay on the altar a book very -richly covered with gold and silver containing the names of all the -benefactors of the cathedral church collected out of ancient MSS. about -the time of the Suppression.[498] But far more interesting is the -"Catalogus Benefactorum" of the great monastery of St. Alban, preserved in -the British Museum Library; in it the name of every benefactor is entered, -with a note of his gift--of an estate, or house, or sum of money, or -sacred vessel; and in many cases a picture of the donor and of his gift is -given, the house being shown in the background of the picture, the flagon -or purse of gold held in his hand. - -Error came in when a man founded a Divine service the sole object of which -was to obtain prayers for himself; it was mitigated by the association of -family, benefactors, and friends, and the usual addition of all faithful -souls. After all, a saint of old was glad that his name should be enrolled -in the diptych of his Church, and remembered in her prayers. But a saint -would have been content to be included in the general sentence with which -the roll concluded--"and all those whose names, O God, Thou knowest." We, -at least, may be satisfied with the commemoration by our Church of "all -those who have departed in Thy faith and fear," without being too ready to -find fault with those whose eschatology differed somewhat from ours, and -was less scriptural; but whose simple desire, after all, was for God's -mercy on themselves, and who, in anxiety for themselves, did not forget -"all faithful souls." - - * * * * * - -In some cases it is probable that the common human desire to be remembered -after death took this shape; a chantry was a monument; and a monument of -living men keeping a name in remembrance has very respectable countenance. -This is the explanation of a good number of English titles of nobility, -with grants of suitable estates to maintain the title. The Dukedoms of -Marlborough and of Wellington, the Earldoms of St. Vincent and of Nelson, -were intended by the sovereign who granted the titles, and the -Parliaments which granted the estates, to keep in memory those great men -and their services to the country, and have well served their purpose. So, -many a chantry kept the name of the founder fresh in the recollection of -his descendants, and of the people of his neighbourhood, which would -otherwise have been forgotten. The desire to have one's name kept alive on -the lips of prayer was not an unworthy one. - - * * * * * - -But the two thousand chantries founded between the thirteenth and -sixteenth centuries were not all of this exclusively personal kind. Many -included objects of general utility, which under the name of a chantry -could be founded and endowed in a legal way, evading many legal -difficulties. Some of the chantries were really chapels-of-ease for an -outlying population; some were additions to the working clerical staff of -a town; some were grammar schools, the chantry priest being really the -schoolmaster. - -Chantries began to be founded late in the thirteenth century. The -"Taxatio" records only two: one of Hugh of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln, who -died 1225, the other at Hatherton, in the Archdeaconry of Coventry.[499] -The number of them increased more and more, and the greater proportion -were founded in the fifteenth century.[500] They were distributed very -unequally over the country. Some of the cathedrals served by canons had a -considerable number, perhaps because founders of chantries who were great -noblemen and ecclesiastics preferred to be commemorated in the mother -church of their diocese. Thus, St. Paul's, London,[501] had 37; York, 3; -Lichfield, 87; Lincoln, 36; Chichester, 12; Exeter, 11; Hereford, 11; -Sarum, 11; none in Wells; none in Bath Abbey Church, but 18 in the -adjoining college of Delamond Roy. The cathedrals served by monks seem not -to have encouraged the founding of chantries; thus there are none in -Durham, Ely, Norwich, Worcester, Winchester, and only, exceptionally, 4 in -Canterbury, 2 in Rochester; 4 in the Church of Austin Canons, which was -the Cathedral of Carlisle. They were numerous in the great town churches, -founded by the wealthy citizens; there were over 180 in the city and -suburbs of London; 42 in the city of York; 23 in Newcastle; 4 in the city -of Lincoln; 10 in the city of Hereford; 13 in the town of Newark; 7 in -Doncaster; 5 in Rotherham, etc. They were unequally distributed over the -country parishes; in Norwich diocese, there are very few outside the -towns; in Yorkshire they are very numerous; in Wales there are almost -none. - -We give at length the history of a chantry at Ipswich, as an illustration -of these personal chantries. - - Edmund Daundy, merchant of Ipswich, in 1514, founded a perpetual - chantry for a chantry priest at the altar of St. Thomas the Martyr, in - the parish church of St. Lawrence, in Ipswich, for the prosperous - state of King Henry VIII. and Katharine his queen, of himself, Edmund - Daundy, Thomas Wulcy (Cardinal Wolsey), clarke, dean of the cathedral - church of Lincoln, and of Wm. Daundy, his son, for the term of their - life, and for their souls after their decease; and also for the souls - of Anne, his late wife, Robert Wulcy and Jane, his wife, father and - mother of the same Thomas Wulcy, etc. - - The presentation is to be in the hands of the wardens of the parish - and six men nominated by the bailiffs, who shall elect and nominate a - man to the Prior of Holy Trinity, who shall present him to the - Ordinary for admittance; and if the parish priest refuse to induct - him, he may induct himself. He is to take oath to keep the statutes of - the foundation, perform the duties personally, not be absent for more - than twenty days, except from infirmity, not take any other benefice, - office, stipend, trental, nor yearly service, but the L11 6_s._ - 8_d._[502] granted by the founder; he shall abstain from all unlawful - games and sports. - - His duties are, to say twice in the week _dirge_ and _commendations_, - and once in the week mass of _requiem_, with the collect, _Almighty - and Everlasting God, who governest both the quick and dead, etc._, - with its ... and post communion thereto pertaining; and each day the - same priest, singing his mass, and going to the altar's end before he - washes his hands at the lavatory, shall say this psalm, _De - profundis_, with the collect _Fidelium_, etc., at the end whereof he - shall say, "May the soul of Edmund Daundy, founder of this chantry, - and the souls of his parents and kinsfolk and benefactors, and all - Christian souls, rest in peace and quietness. Amen." - - Also the priest is to be present in the choir of the parish church of - St. Lawrence, having on his surplice, at mattins, processions, mass, - and evensong, singing the psalmodies with the other priests and clarks - every Sunday and Doublefeast and other convenient times, in augmenting - of the Divine service, except any lawful case do let him. - - Further on, he orders that the names of the persons to be prayed for, - viz. the king and queen, Edmund Daundy, Thomas Wulcy, and Wm. Daundy, - among the quick during their lives, and also the names of Anne, - Robert, and Jane among the dead, shall be written on a table, and the - said table by the said priest shall be set openly upon the altar of - St. Thomas the Martyr, etc., to the intent that every day the said - priest, in his mass, shall pray for the prosperity of our said - sovereign lord the king, and the said Edmund the founder, etc., etc. - - He assigns for the residence of the priest his messuage lately built, - with a garden and a certain lane, and all its appurtenances, lately - built in the parish of St. Lawrence. - - He has provided for the chantry a mass-book, two complete vestments, - and a book called a Coucher; and he directs that the vestments, books, - chalices, and other ornaments of the altar given, or to be given, by - him or any other patron, after mass shall be properly put away in a - chest and locked up.[503] He also wills that the priest shall deposit - yearly 2_s._ 4_d._ in a box, with two keys, one to be kept by himself - and the other by the churchwardens, for the maintenance of the house, - chantry, furniture, etc. Also, that every priest shall leave to his - successor 40_s._, for the costs and charges of his successor about his - presentation, admission, institution, and induction. - - He makes elaborate arrangements for his year-day, with the whole - service ordained for the dead, for ever. The chantry priest is on that - day to distribute to the parish priest of St. Lawrence ministering - about the same anniversary, 12_s._; to the twelve priests, masses and - other divine services there doing, 6_s._; to the parish clerk, 12_d._; - to the other six clerks there singing and serving God, 12_d._, equally - among them; to twelve children there singing and serving God, 12_d._; - to the sexton and ringing of the bells, 6_d._; to twelve poor indigent - persons of the said parish to pray for his soul and the souls above - said, 2_s._; and to the two bailiffs of Ipswich, 13_s._ 4_d._--that is - to say, to every one of them to offer at the said anniversary, 12_d._, - and to control the said anniversary, 6_s._ 8_d._ - - "And because it is not in man but in God to foresee and provide all - things, and oftentime it fortuneth that what in the beginning was - thought to be profitable, afterwards is found not to be so," therefore - he reserves to himself only the power to alter these statutes.[504] - -The Pudsay Chantry at Bolton-by-Bowland, Yorkshire, was founded for a -priest to pray for the soul of the founder, etc., and all Christian souls, -and also to say mass at the manor house of Bolton when he shall be -required by the said founder or his heirs.[505] - - * * * * * - -Frequently a chantry was endowed for more than one priest; that of the -Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral was for two priests, whose stipends -at the end of the fifteenth century amounted to L12 each. The endowment -of the early Chantry of Hugh of Wells, at Lincoln, was held by the sacrist -who, out of its L21 6_s._ 8_d._ a year, had to find two chaplains and to -pay alms to the poor at the obit. The Burghersh Chantry, at Lincoln -Cathedral, was for five chaplains and six boys who lived together in the -chantry house in the Cathedral Close; the endowment, after paying for the -maintenance and schooling of the boys, left L7 9_s._ a piece to each of -the cantarists. There was a chantry of six priests at Harwood, Yorkshire. -There were many others with two and three priests. Richard III. commenced -the foundation of a chantry of a hundred chaplains in York Minster; six -altars were erected, and the chantry house begun, when the king's death on -Bosworth Field put an end to the magnificent design.[506] The foundation -of his fortunate rival, though not so extravagant, was of regal splendour. -Henry VII.'s chapel at Westminster is the sumptuous chantry chapel in -which his monument, with its bronze effigy, protected by the bronze herse, -still remain uninjured. The title deed of the endowment which he made for -the perpetuation of his memory still remains in the form of a handsome -volume, whose pages are adorned with miniature pictures, and the great -seals are still attached to it, in their silver cases. First, he provided -for three additional monks to say masses for him, who were to be called -the king's chantry monks. On every anniversary, the greatest bell of the -monastery was to be rung for an hour, and the bells rung as at the most -solemn anniversaries. A hundred wax tapers, each 12 lbs. in weight and 9 -feet long, were to be set upon and about the herse, and there continually -to burn during all the time of the service of the _Placebo_, the _Dirge_, -with lessons, lauds, and mass of _Requiem_, and all the orations, -observances, and ceremonies belonging thereto. Also 24 new torches were to -be held about the herse all the time of the service. Twenty pounds were to -be given in alms, viz. 25 marks among the blind, lame, impotent, and most -needy people, 2_d._ to each man and woman, and 1_d._ to each child so far -as it will go; and 5 marks to be given to the 13 bedesmen and 3 bedeswomen -provided in the said monastery (of whom one was to be a priest, and all -under the government of a monk), 12_d._ to each. A weekly obit was to be -held, at which the bells were to be rung; and alms given to the 13 -bedesmen and 2 bedeswomen and 124 others, 1_d._ to each. Thirty tapers -were to burn at the weekly obit, to be renewed when they had burnt down to -5 feet long; to burn also during high mass and first and latter evensong, -and at every principal feast; and at the coming of the king and queen for -the time being into the Church of the said monastery, and of any of royal -blood, dukes, and earls. Four of the torches to be held about the herse at -weekly obits, to be renewed when wasted to 7 feet long. Four tapers, one -at each side and one at each end, were to burn perpetually night and day, -besides the 100 aforesaid, to be renewed when wasted to 6 feet. - -[Illustration: Abbot, monks, and bedesmen of Westminster Abbey.] - -Every year, on some day before the anniversary, the abstract of the grant -was to be read in the chapter house, and the Chief Justice or King's -Attorney or Recorder of London to be present, and to receive 20_s._ for -the attendance, and after the reading to go straight to the herse and say -certain psalms. The woodcut, taken from one of the illuminations of this -title deed, represents the abbot and several monks and the bedesmen above -mentioned. - - * * * * * - -Parochial benefices were sometimes appropriated to the maintenance of -chantries; in some cases what was done amounted to this: that the parish -church was converted into a chantry for the lord of the manor and his -family. Thus, in 1319, Sir John de Trejagu, Knt., founded a chantry for -four chaplains in the Church of St. Michael Penkvil for prayers for -himself and family. The proposal was approved by the bishop, who made the -church collegiate, and the chief of the four clergymen who were to serve -it an archpriest, with the care of the parishioners. - -So, in 1334, Eresby Church was appropriated to the Chantry Chapel of -Spillesby by the bishop, on the petition of Sir Rob. de Willughby, Knt., -and a master and twelve chaplains of the chantry were founded there by Sir -John de W. and Lady Johan his wife.[507] In 1395, Elizabeth de Willughby, -Consort of Sir Robert, lord of Eresby, left her body to be buried in the -above chantry, and bequeathed to the chantry a crucifix of gold in which -is a piece of the cross of our Lord, and set with two rubies and two -emeralds, with a circle of pearls on the head, to remain there for ever -without being alienated.[508] - -Isabel, widow of Sir Fulke de Penbridge (1410), purchased the advowson of -Tonge Church, Shropshire, from Shrewsbury Abbey, rebuilt the church in its -present beauty, and endowed it with L50, to support a warden, five -chaplains, and thirteen old men. The chaplains were not to take other -preferment. If any of the poor men were sick or bedridden, they were to be -visited three times a week by one of the chaplains. If any stranger dined -in hall, the chaplain who introduced him was to pay for his dinner, 3_s._ -if at the high table, 1_s._ 4_d._ if at the low.[509] - -Sometimes a man founded more than one chantry, perhaps, in churches on his -several estates; thus, Ralph Basset, of Drayton, Knight, in 1389 leaves -L200 to found two chantries, "one in St. Mary's Chapel in Olney -Churchyard, and one in the new chapel built by me at Colston -Basset."[510] Sir William de Molynes, Knight, in 4 Richard II., leaves -bequests "to every chaplain of my three chantries."[511] - - * * * * * - -The founder of a chantry usually kept the right to nominate the cantarist -in his own family. Thus, the founder of a chantry of three priests, who -were to dwell together in a house vulgarly called Muston, in the parish of -Leverton and Leake, left the right of presentation to her daughters.[512] -Sometimes the presentation was left to the parish priest, as at -Edmonton;[513] sometimes it was even vested in the parishioners, as at -Harlow.[513] - -Chantries continued to be founded up to the very eve of their general -destruction: _e.g._ one at Bishopstone Church, Hereford, in 1532; in -Lugwardine Church, in 1541; and in Welsh Newton, in a doubtful way, as -late as 1547.[514] - - * * * * * - -It may be worth while to say that the clergy were as much given to making -arrangements for posthumous prayers for themselves and their families as -the laity. A large proportion of the chantry chapels in cathedrals were -founded for themselves by bishops. One of the earliest is that of Bishop -Hugh of Wells, of Lincoln in A.D. 1235; Bishop Stavenby of Lichfield, who -died 1238, set the example there; and so in other cathedrals. There is a -pleasing touch of sentiment in Bishop Weseham's foundation of a chantry in -Lichfield Cathedral for himself and his friend, Bishop Grostete of -Lincoln, of which cathedral he had himself been dean before his promotion -to the episcopate.[515] - -Not many parish priests founded chantries, because they were seldom rich -enough to undertake anything so costly; but the numerous instances in -their wills of provision made for trentals, month's minds, and obits, -attest their belief and feeling on the subject.[516] There is a quaint -touch of professional experience in the condition of the bequest of John -Cotes, Canon of Lincoln in 1433, to the resident canons, vicars, -chaplains, poor clerks, and choristers attending his funeral, "and present -at the whole office, not to those going like vagabonds through the middle -of the church at the time of the said office."[517] - - * * * * * - -The majority of the chantries were founded at an existing altar of a -cathedral, monastic, or parish church; but chantry chapels were specially -provided for many of these services, and were the occasion of the -introduction of a great deal of architectural variety and interest in -existing churches. In the cathedrals, little chapels were screened off in -various places. A very favourite locality for the burial of a bishop was -between the great pillars of the nave or choir; the space between the -pillars was converted into a little chapel by stone screens which enclosed -the tomb and altar, and left space for a priest to minister and an acolyte -to serve, while those attending the service stood or knelt outside, and -could see or hear through the open-work of the screen. Without going -further than Winchester Cathedral, we shall find illustrations of -varieties of plan and elevation of these chantry chapels. - -Those of Wykeham and Edyngdon on the south side of the nave have the space -between two pillars screened off with elaborate tabernacle work of stone, -and are groined above. Those of Fox and Gardiner are on the south and -north sides of the choir; each has a small chamber adjoining the chapel. -Those of Cardinal Beaufort and Waynflete are on the south and north sides -of the retro-choir. On each side of the Lady Chapel is a space enclosed -for a chantry chapel by wooden screens; that on the south (to Bishop -Langton) has benches round the three sides, panelled at the back and -canopied by a tester, for people attending the service. - -[Illustration: Tewkesbury Abbey. The Warwick Chantry Chapel.] - -[Illustration: Cuckfield Church, Sussex--before restoration.] - -In a parish church, the place provided for a memorial service was -sometimes a chapel added to the choir of the church and opening into it, -but partitioned by stone, or, more frequently, wooden screens; these -chapels were sometimes architecturally beautiful, and added to the -spaciousness and dignity of the church. But often, instead of being an -addition to the spaciousness of the church, they were a practical -infringement upon its space; for the most frequent provision for a chantry -was made by screening off the east end of an aisle, either of the chancel -or nave. There were rare examples of the chantry chapel being a detached -building in the churchyard. At Winchester there is an example both of a -chantry at the side of the College chapel and also of another, with a -priest's chamber over it,[518] in the middle of the cloister court. - -[Illustration: Screen of Chantry Chapel, Dennington, Suffolk.] - -It seems desirable to repeat here that some of the domestic chapels were -founded as chantry chapels, or had a chantry subsequently founded within -them; as the domestic chapel at the Vyne, Hants. There were two chantries -in the chapel of Pontefract Castle; one in the chapel of the manor house -at Topcliff, Yorkshire, and at Cransford, Dorset, and in the Bishop of -Durham's manor house at Darlington. Very probably the service in a -domestic chapel always included some commemoration of the departed members -of the family. - - * * * * * - -It was only well-to-do people who could afford to found and endow a -perpetual chantry; there were many less costly ways in which men showed -their solicitude for their own well-being, and their affection for their -belongings, by making such provision for mortuary prayers and masses as -their means allowed. Sometimes provision is made for a chantry to last for -a limited number of years. Thus-- - - John Cotes, of Tevelby, Canon of Lincoln in 1433, left for a chaplain - to sing every day for twenty years, "to have L4 13_s._ 4_d._ per ann., - and 3_s._ 4_d._ for wine, wax, and candles, and to engage in no other - duty, spiritual or temporal, under pain of my anathema." - - Robert Astbroke, of Chepyng Wycombe, 1533, leaves money for "a priest - to sing for my soul in Wicomb Church, at Ihus altar for x years, and I - desire that there be no prieste admytted to the said servys but that - can sing at least his playn song substancyally."[519] - - Thomas Booth, in Eccles Church in Lancashire, leaves 100 marks to two - chaplains for ten years in two chapels--five marks a year each.[520] - - Robert Johnson,[520] Alderman of York, leaves, "to the exhibition of - an honest prest to synge at the alter of Our Lady daily by the space - of vij yeres xxxv{li.} And I will that what prest that shall serve it - every day, when that he hath saide masse, shall stand affore my grave - [which was 'affore the mydste of the alter'] in his albe, and ther to - say the psalme of _De Profundis_, with the collettes, and then caste - holy water upon my grave."[521] - -So, we have bequests of money to provide one or two chaplains for two -years; still more frequently one or two chaplains for one year; frequently -for a trental of masses, and an obit, that is for masses for thirty days -after death, and after that a mass on the anniversary of death; most -frequently of all, for mass on the first, third, seventh, and thirtieth -day, and on the years' day.[522] In most cases there was a sum left for -wax tapers and other funeral expenses, and for a donation to every clerk, -or layman, attending the funeral mass and the obit. In the case of the -poorest, the parish priest said a mass for the dead, and committed the -body, with the proper prayers, to the grave.[523] - -[Illustration: VIGILIAE MORTUORUM. XV. CENT. MS., EGERTON, 1070, f. 54 v.] - -Ralph Lord Cromwell, making his will in 1457, desired that his body should -be buried in Tattershall Church, which he had rebuilt and made -Collegiate,[524] and that three thousand masses should be said for his -soul. - - John Prestecote, 1411-1412 [seems to be a clergyman], leaves stock to - churchwardens of several parishes to maintain his anniversary for - ever, and anniversaries of others; leaves his best silver-covered cup - to the Prioress of Polslo Convent, to remain in that house for ever, - and be called by his name "Prestcote" in his memory.[525] - - 1503. Agnes Walworth leaves to the Church of St. Peter a cup of silver - gilt, and to be prayed for in the Bead Roll for one whole year.[526] - - 1508. Wm. Harcote leaves his body to be buried in St. Peter's - Churchyard, and money to purchase a cross, according to the cross of - St. Nicholas in the churchyard, to stand over his grave.[527] - - 1509. Wm. Plesyngton orders his body to be buried in St. Peter's - Churchyard; a barrel of beer, with bread,[528] to be given in the - church at his cost to the poor of the parish; Sir Jeffrey, his ghostly - father, to say a trental of masses for his soul in St. Peter's Church, - and to be paid 5_s._[529] - -Here are some curiosities on the subject-- - - Dame Eliz. Bourchier, in 1499, leaves "_xx marcs for a yearly obit_, - at St. Dunstan's in the East, if the parson and parishioners will - have it; if not, at some other church; and each of her servants, men - and women, dwelling with her at the _time of death, to have a - convenient black gown_ to pray for her soul."[530] - - In 1452, Thomas of Beckington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, consecrated a - tomb which he had made for himself, and said mass, in full - pontificals, for his own soul, for the souls of his parents, and all - the faithful departed, in the presence of a vast congregation.[531] - - The Commonalty of Oxford was required to found an anniversary for the - souls of the clerks and others, about forty in number, killed in a - Town and Gown riot on St. Scholastica's Day, 1354, and to make an - offering, to be distributed 1_d._ to each of forty poor scholars, and - the rest to St. Mary's Church. It was continued down to the - Reformation.[532] - - Roger Wylkynson, of Swyneshead, yeoman, 1499, leaves to his godson his - principal messuage and lands, "to him and his heirs in tail, they - keeping my anniversary in Swyneshed Church."[533] - - Thomas Normanton, of Tynwell, 1533, leaves his lands to his eldest son - Richard in tail, "he and his heirs to keep my anniversary in Ketton - Church for ever."[534] The "for ever" lasted sixteen years. - - John Toynton, of Lincoln, chaplain, 1431, directs his anniversary to - be kept ten years for the following alms:--"In the offering at mass, - 6_d._; in the tolling of the bells to the clerks, 2_d._; in candles at - the mass, 2_d._; in bread at the dirge, 1_s._ 4_d._; six chaplains - saying dirge and mass, 12_d._--that is, to each 2_d._; to poor and - needy, 7_d._; to the parochial chaplain saying my name in his roll on - Sundays at prayers, 4_d._; to the chantry priest, Robert Dalderby, of - Lincoln [chaplain], a new vestment of ruby satin, with golden letters - upon it, and a new vestment of Borde to Alexander the chaplain, for - masses."[535] - - Robert Appulby of Lincoln leaves a bequest to the Guild of Clerks at - Lincoln that his name may be recited among the names of the departed, - and the antiphon _Alma Redemptoris Mater_.[536] - -We gather with some certainty the amount of remuneration which was usually -given to a chantry priest for his services. John Coates, we have seen, in -1433, directs that a chaplain shall say mass for him every day for twenty -years, and shall have four pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence per -annum, besides three shillings and fourpence for wine and wax candles, and -shall engage in no other service, spiritual or temporal, on pain of his -anathema.[537] - - Richard de Croxton, 1383, leaves L50 for masses for ten years; this - would be at the rate of L5 a year. Thomas de Roos, lord of Hamlak and - Belvoir, in 1412, leaves L400 for ten chaplains to say mass in his - chapel of Belvoir, for eight years, which, again, amounts to L5 a year - to each. J. de Haddon, Canon of Lincoln, 1374, leaves L21 for two - chaplains for two years. Beatrix Hanlay, 1389, leaves 20 marks and a - silver cup to Thornton Abbey for masses, and L30 of silver to six - priests to celebrate for a year. So that it is abundantly evident that - L5 a year was the usual stipend for a chantry priest. Elizabeth Davy, - 1412, leaves cc{l.} for masses, which is to be kept in some secret - place in Lincoln Cathedral, and distributed annually to the chaplains. - - Nicholas Sturgeon, priest in 1454, bequeaths to the Church of St. - Andrew, Asperton, Herefordshire, a vestment of black for priest, - deacon, and sub-deacon of the price of L10 or within; his exequies and - obit day to be kept solemnly there during the term of seven years, for - the expenses of which he bequeaths 46_s._, that is, for every year - 6_s._ 4_d._ - -Here is a very curious example of a nun being paid to say prayers for -people living and dead: John of Leek, Rector of Houghton, 1459, leaves-- - - to Isabella Chawelton, sister of St. Katharine's, Lincoln, 40_s._ to - pray for the soul of her sister Grace, and my soul.[538] - -When we refer to the returns of the "Valor," we are confirmed in the -conclusion that L5 was the normal stipend of a chantry priest; but a few, -through the liberality of the endowment, received more, like the two -chaplains of the Black Prince's chantry with their L12 a year; and many -received less, as may be seen in the volumes of the "Valor" _passim_. - - William Rayne (of Coltisbroke, 1535), leaves to his nephew, if he - shall be ordained "a priest, to have L5 a year to sing for me for five - years, except he be at my wyf's bording and bedding, and if he soo be, - then four marks a yere."[539] - -So that a priest's board and lodging was worth L5 - 4 x 13_s._ 4_d._ = L2 -13_s._ 4_d._ The lodging with the widow would be consistent with the idea -that a chantry priest or annueller was a kind of chaplain to the family. -This conjecture is supported by the statute of 36 Ed. III., c. 8, which, -in consequence of the dearth of parish priests after the Black Plague, -desired to lessen the number engaged in mortuary services; it forbade any -layman to pay a priest more than 5 marks, and if retained to abide at his -table, that was to be reckoned as equal to 40_s._[540] As part of the same -policy, a constitution of Archbishop Islop, in 1362, fixed the stipend of -a chantry priest at 5 marks.[541] - -Archbishop Islip, 1362,[542] says, "We are certainly informed by common -fame and experience that modern priests, through covetousness and love of -ease, not content with reasonable salaries, demand excessive pay for their -labours, and receive it; and do so despise labour and study that they -wholly refuse as parish priests to serve in churches or chapels, or to -attend the cure of souls, though fitting salaries are offered them, and -prefer to live in a leisurely manner by celebrating annuals for the quick -and dead; and so parish churches and chapels remain unofficiated, -destitute of parochial chaplains, and even proper curates, to the grievous -danger of souls; whereupon he goes on to decree that all unbeneficed -chaplains fitted for cure of souls shall be required to put aside any -private obsequies, and officiate wherever the ordinary shall appoint them, -and at six marks of annual stipend, while priests without cure of souls -shall be content with five marks." - -These services for the dead made work for a considerable number of -clerics. Sometimes, no doubt, the parish priest celebrated the month's -mind and the obit, and perhaps the trental also; but when a competent -provision had been made for the purpose it is probable that it was usual -to employ a distinct person to fulfil the stipulated services. The -beneficed clergy are indeed accused of sometimes running away from their -own poor benefices to take engagements of this sort. "Piers Ploughman" -says:-- - - Parsons and parish preistes pleyned hem to the bisshope, - That hire parishes weren povere sith the pestilence tyme,[543] - To have a licence and leve at London to dwelle, - And syngen ther for symonie, for silver is swete. - -Chaucer says of his poor parson-- - - He sett not his benefice to hire, - And lefte his sheep accombred in the mire, - And ran unto London unto Sainte Poules,[544] - To seeken him a chanterie for souls, - Or with a Brotherhode to be withold, - But dwelt at home and kepte well his fold. - -But that some poor parsons did so, and that their bishops allowed it, we -have the evidence of the Episcopal Registers.[545] - -One result of these occasional engagements for a month, or a year, or a -few years, was that a considerable number of priests made a precarious -living in this easy way, and in many cases were not very useful members of -society or very respectable members of the clerical body.[546] - -Chaucer has introduced into his "Shipman's Tale" one of these priests -"living in a leisurely manner by celebrating annuals for the quick and -dead":-- - - In London was a priest, an annueller, - That therein dwelled hadde many a year, - Which was so pleasant and so serviceable - Unto the wife thereas he was at table, - That she would suffer him no thing to pay - For board ne lodging, went he never so gay - And spending silver had he ryht ynoil.[547] - -The ordinary chantry priest was under no canonical obligation to help the -parish priest in his general duties; but in some cases the foundation deed -of the chantry required that the cantarist should assist at Divine worship -on Sundays and festivals for the greater honour of the service; and in -some cases the priest is expressly required by his foundation deed to help -the vicar in the cure of souls, as in the parish churches of Helmsley, -Middleton, etc. - - Our Lady's chantry priest in Rothwell Church (1494), to celebrate mass - daily in chantry and other Divine service, and be in the high quire - all festival days at mattins, mass, and evensong; and to help to - minister sacraments in the parish. - - Margaret Blade, widow, endowed the chantry of our Lady in Kildewick - Parish, in 1505, for a priest to help Divine service in the quire, to - help the curate in time of necessity, and also to sing mass of our - Lady on Saturday and Sunday, "if he have convenient help."[548] - -Sometimes the chantry priest was required to say Divine service at an -unusual hour for the convenience of portions of the people; thus, at St. -Agnes, York, the chantry service had been between eleven and twelve, -unusually late, and was altered by the advice of the parishioners to an -equally abnormal early hour, viz. between four and five in the morning, as -well for their accommodation as for travelling people, who desired to hear -mass before setting out on their journey.[549] Many churches had such an -early service, called the "Morrow Mass." - - If thou have eny wey to wende, - I rede thou here a masse to ende, - In the morennynge if thou may, - Thou shalt not leose of thi travayle, - Not half a foote of wey.[550] - -Some of the chantry chapels were practically chapels-of-ease at a distance -from the parish church. For parishes having once been established, the -rights of the patrons, incumbents, parishioners, and others interested -were so safely secured by the law that it was difficult for any one to -make an alteration in the existing arrangements. Even down to the passing -of the general Church Building Acts in the present century, a private Act -of Parliament was necessary to legalize the subdivision of a parish. When -the growth of new groups of population at a distance from the parish -church made it desirable to provide the means of Divine worship and -pastoral oversight there, if the incumbent desired to make the provision, -he could do it by building chapels, and supplying them with chaplains at -his own cost, and under his own control. If a lay proprietor desired to -make the provision for the people about him, he could do it by getting the -bishop's leave to found a chantry, and the king's licence to endow it -notwithstanding the Mortmain Act. Accordingly, a number of chapels were -founded, which were technically chantry chapels, but really -chapels-of-ease for an outlying population; _e.g._ the chantries at -Brentwood, in the parish of Southweald; Billericay, in the parish of Great -Burstead; Foulness island, in the parish of Wakering; in the street of -Great Dunmow, half a mile from the parish church, all in Essex; of -Woodstock; of Quarrindon, in the parish of Barrow; of St. Giles, in the -parish of Stretton, both in Notts, were all built at a distance of a mile -or more from their parish churches. At Macclesfield, the Savage Chantry, -founded by the Archbishop of York of that name, who died 1506, was a -chapel-of-ease two miles distant from the parish church. There were a -considerable number of these outlying chantries in the extensive parishes -of Yorkshire, at distances of from half a mile to two or three miles from -the parish church, and in some cases divided from the parish church by -waters liable to be flooded; in some parishes there were two or three such -chantries; as two at Topcliff, two in Sherifholm, two in Strenshall, two -in Wath, three in Northallerton, besides a chapel seven miles off served -by the vicar's chaplain; one in each of the parishes of Helmsley, Kirby -Misperton, Malton, etc. - -In some of these chapels there was no endowment for a priest, or it was -insufficient, and the inhabitants of the villages taxed themselves -voluntarily to make up a stipend; thus, at Ayton, the rate of payment was -for a husbandman (? tenant farmer) 8_d._, a cottager with land 4_d._, a -cottager without land 2_d._ a quarter. - -Here is another similar case which presents us with quite a picture:--In -1472, the people of Haxby complain to the archdeacon that "they inhabit so -unreasonable fer from ther parisch chirche that the substance [majority] -of the said inhabitauntes for impotenseye and feblenes, farrenes of the -long way, and also for grete abundance of waters and perlouse passages at -small brigges for people in age and unweldye, bethurn these and ther nex -parische chirche, they may not come with ese or in seasonable tyme at -their saide parishe chirche, as Cristen peple should, and as they wold, -so they pray for leave and help for a chaplain of their own."[551] - - * * * * * - -A grammar school was often provided for a parish under the convenient -conditions of a chantry; the schoolmaster being a priest, it was no great -addition to his duties to require him to add to his mass prayer for his -founders; it was very natural that the boys who profited by the foundation -should also be required to join in the commemoration services for their -benefactor.[552] - -We quote the whole scheme of the foundation at Blackburn as an example of -its kind. - - In 1514, fifth year of Henry VIII., Thomas, Earl of Derby, and the - parishioners of Blackburn, each contributed lands, etc., to be held by - certain trustees for the foundation of a chantry in the church there, - in the chapel of our blessed Lady, in the south aisle there. The - chantry priest was to be "an honest seculer prest, and no reguler, - sufficiently lerned in gramer and playn song, y{f} any such can be - gotten, that shall kepe continually a fre gramer schole, and maintaine - and kepe the one syde of the quire, as one man may, in his surplice, - every holiday throughout the year." And if no secular priest can be - found that is able and sufficiently "lerned in gramer and plain song," - then they were to find "an able secular priest, who is expert, and can - sing both pricke song and plain song, and hath a sight in descant, who - shall teach a free song school in Blackburn." In all his masses he was - to pray for the good estate of the then Earl and Lady of Derby, and - their ancestors, and all benefactors to the chantry, quick or dead, - and for all Christian souls. And every Sunday and holiday in the - year, after his mass, he was to turn him to the people, and exhort - them to prayer for all the said persons, and to say "the salme _De - profundis_, with a _Paternoster_ and an _Ave Maria_, with special - suffrages after, and funeral collect, as well for the quick as for the - dead. And every Saturday and holiday he shall sing the masse of Our - Lady to note, and every quarter day he and his scholars shall sing a - solemn dirge for the souls aforesaid. And if the chantry priest shall - take any money or profit to say any trental, or otherwise to pray for - souls other than those specified in the present foundation, he shall - give half the profit towards the reparation or ornament of the said - chantry; and if he shall make default in any of his duties, he shall - pay 4_d._ for each such default, to be bestowed on the reparation and - ornamentation of the chantry." In summer he was to say his masses at 8 - a.m., and in winter at 10 a.m.[553] - - So, in 1468, Richard Hammerton endowed a chantry in the chapel of Our - Lady and St. Anne, in the church of Long Preston, co. York, "that the - incumbent should pray for the soul of the founder, help to perform - divine service in the choir in time of necessity, teach a grammar and - song school to the children of the parish, make a special obit yearly - for the soul of the founder, distribute at the same time six shillings - to the poor in bread, and make a sermon by himself or deputy once a - year."[554] - - There were four chantries in Burnley Church, and belonging to the - Townley Chantry a _parva aula_, on the west side of the - churchyard,[555] occupied as a grammar school till 1695, when another - was erected in a more convenient situation.[556] - - At Giggleswick, in Yorkshire, and at Tutthill, in the same county, - the rood chantry priest was required to be "sufficiently seen" in - plain song and grammar, and therefore, no doubt, was intended to teach - them.[557] - - The gild priest of the Jesus Gild, Prittlewell, Essex, celebrated - daily at the altar of St. Mary, in the parish church, and had also - charge of the education of the youth of the parish. - - Skipton Grammar School was founded in 1548. The appointment vested in - the vicar and churchwardens, for the time being. The master was to - teach certain Latin authors, to attend in the choir of the parish - church on all Sundays and festivals, and when service is performed by - prick song, unless hindered by some reasonable excuse; to celebrate - before seven in the morning on such days, and three other days in the - week; to be vested in a surplice, and sing or read as shall seem meet - to the vicar.[558] - - In 1529 an act passed forbidding any one after Michaelmas to receive - any stipend for singing masses for the dead; some of the patrons - proceeded to seize upon the chantry lands and furniture. Another act - on the accession of Ed. VI., put all the colleges, chantries, free - chapels, and other miscellaneous "endowments for superstitious uses" - into the hands of the king, and commissioners were appointed to search - them out and take possession of them. Some few of the chapels which - had served outlying populations continued to exist and serve their - purpose, the endowments were ruthlessly confiscated, but the - inhabitants purchased the building of the crown or the grantee, and - subscribed among themselves to provide a scanty stipend for a - curate.[559] - - Many of the grammar schools which were suppressed were refounded and - endowed as King Edward VI. Grammar Schools. - - The Returns of the Commissioners are in the Record Office, and there - is an index to them arranged under counties. The Harleian MS., 605, in - the British Museum, is also a catalogue of gilds and chantries. - - Here follow some notes, from these sources, of curious endowments-- - - Fernditch and at Ordell, Beds., for "a Lamp and a Drinking" in the - church. - - Emberton, Bucks., "for a Drinking." - - Great Horkesley, Essex; Cranfield and Steventon, Beds.; for "a Drink - for the Poor." - - Uppingham, Rutland, for "a Drinking on Rogation Day." - - Wynge, Bucks., "for Bride Ale, Child Ale, Marriages, and Dirges, with - lawful games." - - Coventry, "for a preacher." - - Townley, Suffolk, for "a Lamp and watching the Sepulchre." - - Hempstead, Essex, "for discharging the Tax of the poor who may not - have to dispend yearly above 40_s._" - - "For the Bead Roll," at Barford, Beds., Chulgrave, Polloxhill, - Richmond, Sondon, Wichhampstead, Eston, Dorlaston. - - "For finding a Conduit," at St. Mary Aldermary. - - "For repairing Roads and Bridges," in several places. - - "For the Poor," in several places. - - At Hendry and at Wingfield, Suffolk, "for setting out Soldiers." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -GILDS. - - -The voluntary societies or fraternities called "gilds," which were -numerous all over Christian Europe in the Middle Ages, were established -for mutual help and comfort in the various exigencies of life--in -sickness, old age, poverty (if not the result of misconduct), in wrongful -imprisonment, in losses by fire, water, or shipwreck.[560] So far it was -a benefit club. But the gild had always a religious basis. It usually put -itself under the name and protection of the Holy Trinity or of some saint. -Once a year, at least, it took measures to have a special service held on -its behalf in church, which all the members attended, habited in the -livery of the gild; thence it proceeded to its hall or meeting-place for -the annual business meeting; and afterwards held its annual feast. The -mutual help and comfort embraced the spiritual side of life, and included -mutual prayers for the living and the dead. Especially, the gild made much -of the burial of its members, which was conducted with great solemnity; -all the members were bound to attend the funeral; and provision was made -for the continual offering of masses for the welfare of the living, and -the repose of their departed brothers and sisters.[561] - -The trade gilds had for their chief aim the regulation and protection of -their particular trade; their laws included the regulation of freemen, -apprentices, etc.; the quality, etc., of their goods; and constituted a -trade monopoly. But the trade gild always embraced the usual social and -religious features above mentioned. - -The great trade gilds were often powerful and wealthy corporations; their -members made bequests to them of lands and tenements; they used their -commercial talent and ready money in making purchases of other property -which added to their corporate wealth. They built handsome gild halls as -the visible manifestation of their importance; all the members wore gowns -of the same material, colour, and fashion; their officers, masters, and -wardens were distinguished by great silver-gilt maces borne before them, -and by chains and badges round their shoulders; they took pride in the -splendour of their pageantry in the public processions and functions. They -prided themselves also on the value of their plate, mostly gifts from -their own members, or gifts from great persons; on the sumptuousness of -their hospitality; and also on the useful institutions which they -maintained--hospitals, schools, almshouses; on their gifts to the poor; -and on their liberal contributions on great occasions of public need. -Some of them had their own chapel, or at least constant special services -in church, conducted by their own chaplain or chaplains. - - Some of the gilds were organizations not so much for mutual benefit or - the regulation of trade as for the foundation and conduct of - enterprises for the benefit of the whole community; for promoting the - glory of God, and increasing the number of services and the means of - grace, for the population of the town; for founding a hospital or - grammar school; for building and repairing bridges and highways, and - the like. - - The Gild at Ludlow had seven chaplains, and maintained also two - deacons and four choristers to sing divine service in the parish - church. It supported a grammar school, an almshouse for thirty-two - poor people, and bestowed liberal gifts on the poor. - - The Kalendar Gild of Bristol dated from before the Norman Conquest. In - answer to inquiries made in 1387, the gild stated that in the twelfth - century it had founded a school for Jews and others, to be brought up - in Christianity, under the care of the said fraternity, which school - it still maintained.[562] - - At York there was a Gild of the Lord's Prayer. It arose in this way: - at some date unknown, but before the year 1387, a Miracle Play of the - Lord's Prayer had been performed in York, in which all manner of vices - and sins were held up to scorn, and the virtues held up to praise. The - play met with so great favour that a gild was founded for the purpose - of keeping up the annual performance of the play. The gild had the - usual charitable and religious features; but, besides, the members - were bound to illustrate in their lives the scorn of vice and the - praise of virtue, which were the objects of the play, and to shun - company and business which were unworthy. The gild maintained a - candelabrum of seven lights to hang in York Minster, to be lighted on - all Sundays and feast days, in token of the seven supplications of the - Lord's Prayer, to the honour and glory of Almighty God, the Maker of - that Prayer. And they maintained a tablet, showing the whole meaning - and use of the Lord's Prayer, hanging against a pillar of the minster, - near the aforesaid candelabrum. Whenever the play was performed in - York, the gild were to ride with the players through the principal - streets, clad in one suit, and to keep order during the play. - - The Corpus Christi Gild at York seems to have been founded by some of - the clergy specially for the purpose of organizing a great annual - function in honour of the Eucharist. On the day from which the gild - took its name, a great procession was made through the streets of the - city, headed by priests in surplices, and the six masters of the gild - bearing white wands; the craft gilds of the city followed, exhibiting - pageants. In 1415, ninety-six crafts took part in the procession, of - which fifty-four exhibited pageants of subjects from the Bible, and - ten carried torches. A great folio volume, now in the British Museum, - contains the roll of its brethren and sisters, of all ranks, about - 14,850 in number. The two gilds of St. Christopher and St. George, - York, had a "Guylde Hall," and maintained and repaired certain stone - bridges and highways, and gave relief to certain poor people, but "had - no spiritual promotion whereby the King should have firstfruits and - tenths."[563] The Earl and Countess of Northumberland were brother - and sister of this gild, and their annual payment to it was 6_s._ - 8_d._ each, and 6_s._ 8_d._ more for their livery.[564] - - St. George's Gild at Norwich, founded in 1385, in close connection - with the corporation of the city, was another famous gild, numbering - thousands of brethren and sisters, among them some of the East Anglian - nobility. They had a stately equestrian procession, with pageants, on - St. George's Day. - -Chaucer has not overlooked this feature of the social life of his period. -Among the "Canterbury Pilgrims"-- - - An Haberdasher and a Carpenter, - A Webber, a Dyer, and a Tapeser, - Were all yclothed in o liverie - Of a solempne, and grete fraternity. - - In 1404 the Gild of the Holy Trinity was established in Worcester by - Henry IV. The chantry which had been founded in the reign of Edward - III. was slightly altered from its original purpose; a perpetual - chantry of three monks was appointed to sing masses for the soul of - Henry, while the priest of the original foundation was required to - assist the parson and curator of the parish church, "because it doth - abound in houseling people," as well as to sing mass at his own - altar.[565] - - The bailiffs and commonalty of Birmingham in 1392, on the basis of a - chantry originally founded in the time of Henry II., founded the Gild - of the Holy Cross, with chaplains to celebrate Divine service in the - Church of St. Martin, for the town contained two thousand houseling - people; to keep in repair two great stone bridges and divers foul and - dangerous ways; to maintain almshouses for twelve poor persons, and - other charities. It built a great public hall, which was called - indifferently the Town Hall or the Gild Hall.[566] - -We find in the "Calendar of Chantries," etc., and also in the "Valor -Ecclesiasticus," a number of endowed "services," under the same kind of -saintly designation as the chantries, _e.g._ our Lady's Service, St. -Anne's, St. Catherine's, St. John's, the Rood, Trinity, etc.; sometimes, -also, like some of the chantries, they are recorded under a surname, which -it seems probable was that of the founder, as _e.g._ at Bristol, William's -Service, Foster's, Pollard's, Jones's, Henry's, Forthey's. - -The payment for these services seems usually to have come through the -hands of a warden or of feoffees, and we suppose that they were usually -maintained by a gild or fraternity. - - At Our Lady's altar in Rotherham Church, "divers well-disposed - persons" founded a chaplaincy to sing "mass of Our Lady every Saturday - at eight o'clock." The Rood Chantry in Skipton Church was founded for - a priest to say mass "every day when he is disposed" (does not that - mean when he is not, as we say, indisposed, _i.e._ when he is not - hindered by sickness?), "at six in summer and seven in winter, for the - purpose that as well the inhabitants of the town as Kendal men and - strangers should hear the same." - - The mayor and his brethren at Pontefract provided a chaplain to survey - the amending of the highways, and to say the "morrow mass," which was - over by 5 a.m. Also a chaplain of Our Lady to say mass at 8 a.m., and - another in the chantry of Our Lady in St. Giles's Chapel-of-ease - there, to sing mass daily "for the ease of the inhabitants." There was - also a "Rushworth chaplain" at St. Thomas's Chantry, in the parish - church. - - In Wakefield Church the parishioners ordained a "morrow mass" at 5 - a.m. for all servants and labourers in the parish. - -There was a strong likeness between chantries and services; but while the -chief object of a chantry was to obtain prayers for the departed, and it -was only incidentally that it supplied additional opportunities of Divine -worship, the service seems to have been intended specially to maintain an -additional and probably a grander public service for the glory of God and -the help of the spiritual life of the inhabitants of a parish or town, -while prayers for the founders and benefactors were only a minor incident -of the foundation. Here are a few notes on the stipends of the chaplains, -the hire of chapels for the services, etc. - -In the "Calendar of Chantries," etc., there are recorded 107 services, of -which 64 are in Gloucestershire, 12 in Herefordshire, 7 in Chester, 5 in -Yorkshire, 4 in Shropshire, 3 in Derbyshire, 2 in Staffordshire, and 2 in -Somerset, 1 each in Dorset, Durham, Essex, and Wilts, and 4 in Wales. -There are a few entries of "Stipendiaries of our Lady," who were probably -priests serving "Services of our Lady." - -There was a service in the parish church of St. Ellen, Worcester; the -chaplain "_exercens_" the "_servicium_" of the Blessed Virgin there -received by the hands of the wardens of the said "_servicium_," 45_s._, -and he received 75_s._ more from the benevolence and charity of the -parishioners there. In the same church was a Service of St. Katharine, for -"_exercens_" which the chaplain received from the wardens a clear stipend -of L5 1_s._ 11-1/2_d._[567] - -The Vicar of Cirencester received payments from the Feoffees of the -service of the Name of Jesus for the use of a chapel, L6; from the wardens -of the service of St. Christopher, for the use of a chapel, L6 0_s._ -5_d._; from the Feoffees of the Fraternity of St. Katharine, 9_s._ 9_d._; -and from the Feoffees of the Fraternity of St. John Baptist, 17_s._ We -have already seen in the chapter on Chantries,[568] that in villages the -people sometimes provided services for themselves, which might be classed -with these. - -In the fifteenth century every market town had one or more gilds,[569] not -necessarily with the costly adjuncts of a hall for their meetings, and a -chaplain and services of their own in church, but each with its charities, -and social customs, and always with its annual service and festival. Even -in many villages and rural parishes a gild helped to draw neighbours -together into friendly association, organized their charities, and -stimulated their village festivities. Even the humblest of them had its -little fund, formed by the annual subscriptions of the members, and -perhaps a little "stock"[570] of a few cows or sheep fed on the common -pasture, the profit of which swelled the common fund of the gild, out of -which they helped a member in a strait, and gave alms to their poor. They -made much of the funerals of their departed members, following them in a -long procession. The humblest had a few cooking utensils, and pots, and -pans, and pewter dishes and plates[571] for their convivial meetings, and -perhaps a mazer with a silver rim as the loving cup, out of which they -drank to one another's health and prosperity; and on their annual feast -day the vicar said a special mass for them, and preached them a sermon. - -The suppression of all these gilds on the pretext of their prayers for -their deceased members, and the confiscation of their property (except in -London, whose great Trading Gilds were too powerful to be meddled with), -was the very meanest and most inexcusable of the plunderings which threw -discredit upon the Reformation. - - * * * * * - -We have some general reflections to make on these three chapters on -Domestic Chaplains, Chantries, and Gilds. - -The appropriation of so many parochial benefices to the religious houses -in the twelfth century had greatly reduced the provision for the parochial -clergy on whom the burden of the parochial care of the people rested. The -institution during the thirteenth century of vicars in the appropriated -parishes, with perpetuity of tenure, fixed endowment, and responsibility -to the bishop, had done something to alleviate the evil. The institution -of the orders of friars in the same thirteenth century had effected a -great revival of religion; and when the work of the new order had settled -down to its normal level it still supplied a valuable auxiliary of -religion among the lower classes of the population. By the end of the -thirteenth century things had settled down. Very few new monasteries were -founded after the twelfth century; very few friaries after the thirteenth -century. - -Of the rural benefices many were in the hands of rectors in minor orders -who employed chaplains at such stipends as they could agree with them to -accept. Many in the hands of absentee and pluralist rectors were similarly -served by parish chaplains. The remainder were served by vicars whose -endowments we have seen were small. The natural result of such a state of -things must have been that a great proportion of the rural parishes were -taught and tended by vicars and parish chaplains who might be good men, -doing their duty to the best of their ability, but not always men of the -breeding and learning which would make them very suitable pastors for the -country gentry and their families. It seems probable that, in the fashion -which sprung up among the country gentry at the close of the thirteenth -century, and continued through the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, of -founding chantries, and entertaining domestic chaplains, the gentry were -seeking to provide for themselves and their families additional and -sometimes more acceptable spiritual teachers and guides. A wealthy lord -sometimes met the difficulty by converting the parish church into a -collegiate church, with a considerable clerical staff adequately endowed. - -In the ancient towns, we have seen the parishes were small and their -endowments miserable. In the more modern towns, which had grown into great -towns, with the general increase of the population and its tendency then, -as now, to gravitate into the towns, the one vicar of the one parish -church was often quite unable to cope with the spiritual needs of a large -and difficult flock; and the townspeople themselves sometimes made better -provision for their own spiritual needs. The gilds, which provided two or -three or half a dozen chaplains with singing boys to conduct service in -the parish church, were clearly providing for a more dignified service for -the honour of God than the vicar and his clerk could offer; the _Servicia_ -called by the name of this and that saint, seem to have been intended to -multiply the number of services for the greater convenience of the people. -The gild chaplains would certainly be expected to undertake special -personal ministrations--without infringing on the legal rights of the -vicar--to the brothers and sisters of their gild. It is very interesting -to see that the people thus set themselves to supplement the deficiencies -of the ecclesiastical organization, by providing for their own spiritual -needs. It reminds us of the way in which, in more modern times, earnest -people supplied the deficiencies in the supply of their spiritual cravings -by holding "prophecyings" in the time of Elizabeth, and by the foundation -of lectureships in the parish churches in the time of the Georges. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE MEDIAEVAL TOWNS. - - -A typical mediaeval town must have been wonderfully picturesque. As the -traveller came in sight of it at a little distance its grey embattled -walls, rising sheer out of the surrounding green meadows, were diversified -in elevation and sky-line by projecting wall towers; and numerous spires -and towers of churches appeared over the walls.[572] - -As he rode nearer, the great gate tower, with its outwork the barbican, -formed a picturesque architectural group, and spoke of the strength of the -defences of the town and the security of its inhabitants. He entered over -sounding drawbridge, through the echoing vault of the gate; and so into -narrow streets of gabled timber houses, with overhanging upper stories, -interlacing beams, and quaint carvings and finials; past frequent -churches, hospitals, gild-halls; to the cross in the middle of the -market-place. - -[Illustration: Micklegate Bar, York.] - -The people he saw in the streets were in picturesque costumes of all -colours and fashions: a cavalcade of a knight, in flashing armour, with a -squire carrying his helm and spear and two or three yeomen in buff-coats -and helmets behind him; a monk in his flowing black benedictine robe; a -couple of Franciscan Friars in their grey gowns rope-girdled; a parish -priest or cantarist returning from his service; the citizens in dress -which indicated their quality--some in their burgess gowns, others in the -livery of their gild; the shopmen at their open booths at work at their -craft and soliciting the passers-by, "What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? Buy, -buy, buy, buy!" In the central market-place the traveller found crowds of -the country-people grouped round the market cross with their panniers of -country produce, and the housekeepers of the town busily cheapening their -goods. - - * * * * * - -When we apply ourselves to the consideration of the ecclesiastical history -of the towns, we have to bear in mind their various origins. Nearly all -the towns which the Romans left when they evacuated the Province of -Britain were stormed and sacked by the Teutonic invaders, and left ruined -and empty. But as the Saxon settlers grew in numbers, wealth, and -civilization, the force of circumstances must have led to the reoccupation -of a number of these towns; for some were at the natural harbours, some at -convenient points on the lines of internal traffic; and so new towns of -timber houses arose within the old Roman walls. Other towns of later -origin grew up about the chief residence of a Saxon king, or, later still, -of a Norman noble; or about a cathedral or great monastery; later still, -at the convenient centre of the trade of a fertile district, or where -natural advantages encouraged the growth of a manufacture. - -The parochial history of the towns is very obscure. The facts point to the -conclusion that the origin of parishes here was the same as in the -country. There the lord of an estate built a church and provided a -maintenance for a priest to minister to his family and dependents; and the -priest's spiritual authority was conterminous with the area of his -patron's civil jurisdiction; _i.e._ the estates were the parishes. The -ancient towns, it is found, were frequently divided between several -principal proprietors, who had rights of jurisdiction over their own land -and the people living on it. The facts seem to indicate that the lords of -these sokes, or peculiar jurisdictions, usually--like a country thane in -his manor--built a church, and provided a maintenance for a priest to -minister to his own family and people; and that these sokes became the -parishes of the town. - -The great landowners of Saxon or Norman times very frequently had a -residence in the chief town of the county in which their principal estates -were situated; a custom which continued so long that it is not yet -forgotten how the great county families used to have their houses in their -county town. But the residence of a great Saxon or Norman lord was the -home of a numerous household, and the lord's dignity required that he -should have a chapel and a priest of his own. This perhaps is the -explanation of the fact that there were numerous chapels in many of the -oldest towns. - -In borough towns the community of burgesses, it is probable, usually made -provision for the religious wants of that part of the population which was -not in any of the peculiar jurisdictions above mentioned, or within the -walls of the residences of the nobles; and we find groups of burgesses, -and individual burgesses, possessing a church, in the sense of having the -rights and responsibilities of patrons. The result of this origin of town -parishes was that many of the older towns had a number of parish churches -which seems to us out of all proportion to the number of their population; -it was never a question of how many churches were needed for a town of -such-and-such a population; the question was how many lords there were who -felt bound, in their own opinion and that of the time, to provide for -Divine worship and pastoral care for their own people.[573] - -A few actual examples will illustrate these general observations. - -NORWICH, at the end of the Saxon period, was one of the greatest towns in -the kingdom, containing 1320 burgesses. The king, Archbishop Stigand in -private property, and Earl Harold were the principal lords. The king's -burgesses had two churches in the burgh and one-sixth of a third church; -the earl's tenants had the Church of All Saints; and Stigand had two -churches, St. Michael's and St. Martin's. The burgesses held fifteen -churches; and twelve burgesses held Holy Trinity Church (the Conqueror -afterwards gave it to the Bishop of the Diocese); the Abbot of St. Edmund -had a house and the mediety of the Church of St. Lawrence. The Church of -SS. Simon and Jude was held successively by Aylmer, the last Saxon bishop, -and by Herbert, the first Norman bishop, and by Bishop William, who came -after him, and must therefore have belonged to the see. The Domesday -Survey also enters forty-three chapels as belonging to the burgesses at -the time of the Survey, of the existence of which, in King Edward's time, -there is no mention; and yet Norwich had suffered much in the political -changes of the time, the number of its burgesses being reduced to half -their number in the time of King Edward. - -It seems clear that each owner of a separate jurisdiction or soke, king, -earl, Stigand, bishop, and abbot, had a church for his own people; that -the burgesses as a community had provided fifteen other churches in the -town, that another church was held by a group of twelve burgesses, -associated, perhaps, in a gild, and making provision for their own -spiritual needs. There were, thus, at least twenty-five churches in Saxon -times; in the Conqueror's time Domesday Book enumerates fifty-four -churches and chapels; at the end of the thirteenth century, the "Taxatio" -records forty-five; and just before the Reformation, the "Valor" names the -cathedral, the collegiate church of St. Mary in the Fields, the two -hospitals of St. Giles, Tombland, the rectory of SS. Edward, Julian, and -Clement, thirty-seven vicarages, and one free chapel of St. -Katharine.[574] - -Of the parochial history of LONDON very little is known. At the end of the -Saxon period the Church of St. Paul seems to have been surrounded by a few -chapels under the jurisdiction of the Cathedral body, and served by -Chaplains. St. Peter, Cornhill, seems to have been the church of the -bishop's soke. A number of churches seem to have been built in the twelfth -century by owners of property, of whom several were priests:--"There can -be little doubt that St. Martin Orgars, and St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, -were built by Orgar, a wealthy alderman; and that St. John Zachary, -St. Andrew Hubbard, St. Katharine Colman, St. Benet Fink, St. Lawrence -Pountney, and other names affixed to churches, commemorate founders, -builders, or restorers, chiefly of the early part of the twelfth century. -In the time of Henry I., the chapter assigned a parish to the Church of -St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street, of which one Geoffrey, a priest, was the -owner, and his son Bartholomew his successor." - -[Illustration: NORWICH, FROM G. BRAUN'S URBIUM PRAECIPUARUM TOTIUS MUNDI, -LIB. III, pl. 1. A.D. 1573.] - -[Illustration: Environs of London, reproduced from a fragmentary tapestry -map executed at Weston, Warwickshire, circ. 1570.] - -"Many of those parish churches were of very modest dimensions, some of -them only chapels to the great house by whose lord they were built. The -steeple and chancel of All Hallows the Less stood over the gateway of Cold -Harbour, the parish being, in fact, the estate of the Pountney family, and -divided by them from All Hallows the Great. St. Mary Cole Church was over -the gateway of the hospital of St. Thomas of Acon in Cheap. St. Mildred -Poultry, and St. John, were both built on arches over the Wallbrook."[575] - -Of several other churches the founders are known: the canons of St. Martin -built St. Leonard and St. Vedast; the Grey Friars of Newgate Street built -St. Ewen and St. Nicholas; Robert the son of Ralph the son of Herluin -built St. Michael le Querne; Alfune, the friend of Rahere, founder of St. -Bartholomew's, built St. Giles, and Aelmund the priest, with his son Hugh, -gave it to St. Paul's. - -There are indications of the subdivision of parishes, probably as a -consequence of the subdivision of properties by inheritance or sale. Thus -St. Mary Aldermary seems to have been the original church of a parish -which was afterwards subdivided, the original dedication being retained in -the new churches, but with some distinctive affix, as St. Mary le Bow, St. -Mary Abchurch, St. Mary Woolnoth, St. Mary Woolchurch, St. Mary Bothaw, -St. Mary Colechurch, St. Mary Aldermanbury, and St. Mary Staining; All -Hallows the Great and the Less already mentioned; St. Nicholas Olave, and -St. Nicholas Cole Abbey; St. Katharine Colman, and St. Katharine Cree. - -There is a church dedicated to St. Botolph at each of four of the city -gates: Aldersgate, Bishopsgate, Aldgate, and Billingsgate. - -Wm. FitzStephen, in his biography of Becket, states that, in his time, -London possessed 13 conventual, and 126 parish churches. - -Fabyan's "Chronicle," A.D. 1516, gives the sum of the parish churches -within London as 113; houses of religion and others being not parish -churches, 27; in Westminster and other places around the city, including -Southwark, without the walls, 28; the sum of all the Divine houses within -the city and without, 168. - -Lastly, we get valuable suggestions as to the source of the incomes of the -town clergy. In London, the parochial clergy had no tithe and glebe land; -their incomes were derived from customary payments, called donations, -which had been paid time out of mind from the houses and shops in -proportion to their rent. In consequence of some disputes, they were -inquired into and confirmed by Bishop Roger, about A.D. 1230, and amounted -to about 3_s._ 6_d._ in the pound of the rent. The clergy received, -besides, fees for services on many occasions; what these were we learn -from some proceedings in the Star Chamber in 1534-- - - For _Weddings_: Laid on the book, 8_d._; three tapers, 3_d._; and the - whole offering at mass. If married before high mass, 20_d._, or - 40_d._, or 60_d._, or more. For a certificate when the man dwelt in - another parish, 12_d._, or 20_d._, or 40_d._, according to ability. - - For _Burials_: 12_d._ or more, and every priest in the church, 8_d._ - or more, or they do not sing him to his burial. At every month's mind, - year's mind, or obit, the curate has 8_d._ or 12_d._, all the wax - tapers and wax branches used at the funeral; for privy tithes, 20_d._, - or 40_d._, or 5_s._, or 20_s._, or 40_s._, or more. To the high altar - as much for personal tithe. If buried out of his parish, the corpse - must first be presented in his own church with dirge and mass. For - burial in the chancel or high quire, 10_s._ to 40_s._, or more. - - For _Churchings_: For every Sunday when the woman lieth in for saying - a gospel, 1_d._ or 2_d._; at purification the taper, 1_d._, with the - chrisome, and the whole offering by all the women at mass, 2_d._ - - _Beadroll_: If any will have his friends prayed for in the beadroll, - the curate hath by year 4_d._, or 8_d._, or more. - - _At Easter_: Of men's wives, children, and apprentices, for their - communion at Easter, for every head, 2_d._ - - _Tithes of Servants' Wages_: The tenth part and for their housel at - Easter, 1_d._ At all principal feasts divers offer, some wax, some - money, which comes to the parson's use. - - Where a Saint's image stands without the quire to which a Brotherhood - belongeth, the wardens of the brotherhood compound some for 3_s._ - 4_d._, 5_s._, 6_s._ 8_d._, or more, per annum, to have the Brotherhood - kept in the Church (see p. 482). - - The lords reduced the tithes on houses to 2_s._ 9_d._ in the pound, - but confirmed the above customary fees and payments.[576] - -The ancient city of EXETER became the see of the Devonshire Bishopric in -1049-50, when Bishop Leofric moved thither from Crediton; and seems at the -time of the Norman Conquest to have had its cathedral church and a number -of chapels. A religious foundation of Gytha was granted by the Conqueror -to Battle Abbey; it received additional endowments, and grew into a -considerable priory, still receiving its priors from the parent house, and -paying a pension to it. A second small alien Priory of St. James was -founded without the walls. The Castle Chapel was a detached building with -nave and aisle, and was served by three prebends with no dean or head, and -the patronage was attached to the Barony of Okehampton. The bishops had an -almshouse perhaps from the days of Leofric; in 1170 a citizen founded a -hospital of St. Alexius; and the two were in 1225 merged in the hospital -of St. John by the East Gate. A leper hospital was founded outside the -South Gate, and its inmates were forbidden to enter the city. A convent of -Franciscans was founded between 1220 and 1240, and a convent of Dominicans -about the same time. - -In the early part of the thirteenth century there seems to have been some -arrangement of the parochial organization of the city. For in the reign -of King John, we learn from the will of Peter de Paterna and Isabel his -wife, who bequeathed 1_d._ to each of them, that there were twenty-eight -chapels in the city of Exeter. In the year 1222 there was a settlement of -the parish churches which were fixed at the number of 19.[577] The names -of all these parish churches are found in the list of chapels previously -existing, and some of the chapels are not included among the parish -churches.[578] - -[Illustration: EXETER, FROM G. BRAUN'S URBIUM PRAECIPUARUM MUNDI THEATRUM, -LIB. 5, pl. 1. A.D. 1573.] - -BRISTOL affords us an example of a town whose ecclesiastical organization -grew with the gradual increase of the town, in a way which can be more or -less clearly made out. Bristol was a member of the Royal Manor of Barton. -At an early date, probably in Heptarchic times, a town grew up on the -peninsula between the river Avon and its tributary the Frome; the -existence of silver pennies of Ethelred the Unready, which were coined -here, shows that it was at that time a burgh with the usual privilege of a -mint. The reader will remember that it was the principal seaport of the -western coast, and the principal emporium of the slave-trade in Saxon men, -women, and children until Bishop Wulstan succeeded with difficulty in -suppressing the nefarious traffic. - -The Church of St. Peter is said by tradition to have been the earliest -church in Bristol; and there are reasons for thinking that it actually was -the church provided by the Crown as lord of the manor for the use of its -tenants there. The dedication of St. Werburg indicates that this church -was also of Saxon date. The burgh was divided by two main streets, -crossing at right angles in the middle of the town; the churches of St. -Ewan, All Saints, and Holy Trinity (or Christ Church), stand in the angles -made by the Carfax, and their parishes meet at this point, as though there -had been a considerable addition to the population of the burgh, and the -cross roads had been made, the parishes marked out, and the three churches -built simultaneously. - -The Conquest was followed by an age of church-building in Bristol; the -Bishop of Coutances built a castle with a chapel, outside the town on the -east; new Norman lords rebuilt some of the parish churches. The new church -of St. Mary le Port was built by William, Earl of Gloucester, before 1176. -Robert, Earl of Gloucester, founded a Benedictine Priory outside the town, -on the north. A little later Robert Fitz-Harding founded a Convent of -Augustinian Canons on the other side of the River Frome, west of the town. -A small nunnery was founded in 1173 by Eva, wife of W. Fitz-Harding, who -became the first abbess. The first part of the thirteenth century was a -time of great religious activity, and now and henceforth the work was done -not by royal and noble founders, but by the zeal of the people themselves. -A Dominican Friary[579] was founded in 1230, just outside the suburb east -of the castle; the Carmelites were planted in "the fairest of the houses -of the friars" (Leland), where Colston's Hall now stands; the Franciscans -in the suburb beyond the Frome on the north-west; and there was a hospital -of Bonhommes, now the mayor's chapel. - -[Illustration: BRISTOL, FROM G. BRAUN'S URBIUM PRAECIPUARUM TOTIUS MUNDI, -LIB. III, pl. 2. A.D. 1573.] - -In course of time some of these foundations attracted groups of people -about them, whose houses grew into suburbs of the town. One suburb grew up -around the castle on the south-east, and the spiritual wants of its people -were supplied by the building among them of the new church of SS. -Philip and James.[580] Another group of people settled about the priory, -on the north, and attended service in the nave of the priory church, until -at length the monks separated off the nave from the choir, and abandoned -it to the people as their parish church, which still exists. The Austin -Canons attracted still another group who formed a suburb on the -south-west; and after a while the canons built the Church of St. Augustine -the Less for their tenants.[581] - -In the reign of Henry III. the townspeople enlarged their limits by -enclosing a tract on the south within a new wall. The new space was -gradually filled with streets of houses, and St. Stephen's Church seems to -have been built for the use of this new quarter. - -[Illustration: Bristol Cathedral.] - -Bristol grew not only by the enlargement of its own borders, but by the -annexation of adjoining districts, which already had their own civil -jurisdictions and ecclesiastical organizations. On the other side of the -Avon were two districts which had been growing in population and -commercial importance. One of these was the estate which Robert, Earl of -Gloucester, had given in 1145 to the Knights of the Temple; its parish -church was dedicated to the Holy Cross; and there was a house of Austin -Friars within the parish. Adjoining the Temple Fee lay the Manor of -Redcliff, in Bedminster, belonging to the Fitz-Hardings, with its chapel -of St. Thomas, first mentioned in 1232. By the end of the twelfth century -Bristol had, after a sort, spread itself over both Temple and Redcliffe, -and a charter of 1188 included them in the privileges granted to Bristol. -In 1240 a stone bridge was built which connected the two sides of the -river; and a new wall and ditch from one angle of the river to the other -(see the plan) enclosed the two districts on the southern side, and bound -them by a series of fortifications, continuous with those of the northern -side, into one great town. The necessary legal measures incorporated the -groups into one borough. - -The Bristol merchants were wealthy and magnificent. The great merchant -Canynges rebuilt the greater part of the noble Church of St. Mary -Redcliffe; others adorned the town, and added to its religious -opportunities by founding chapels for special services; others built -hospitals and almshouses; others founded chantries in various churches. -Thus the vill of the Saxon kings, with its one church, grew at last into -the great city which at the time of the Reformation possessed the list of -ecclesiastical foundations named below with references to the plan.[582] - -YORK may well be taken as a typical cathedral town. The high altar of the -great Minster Church stood directly over the well in which Edwin the first -Christian King of the Northumbrians and his thanes were baptized. The -first Norman archbishop rebuilt the church and reorganized its chapter -with a dean, precentor, chancellor, and treasurer, 36 prebendaries, and 36 -vicars choral. By the end of the fifteenth century the chantries numbered -about 60; and 36 chantry priests were incorporated into a community, and -lived in St. William's College, which was originally the prebendal house -of the Prior of Hexham. - -The Benedictine Abbey of St. Mary was founded near the cathedral between -1080 and 1090, and there were two other Benedictine foundations in the -city early in the twelfth century, the Priory of Holy Trinity in -Micklegate, and the little nunnery of Clementhorpe, and also the -Premonstratensian House of St. Andrew. - -[Illustration: York Minster--south-west view.] - -St. Leonard's Hospital was a grand foundation by Athelstan, after his -great northern victory in 936, to enable the cathedral clergy to relieve -the needy and maintain hospitality. In 1280 it had an income of nearly -L11,000 (perhaps equal to L200,000 of modern money), and had in its -infirmary 229 men and women, and in its orphanage 23 boys. In 1293 it gave -away every week at the gate 232 loaves and 256 herrings; it distributed -every Sunday 33 dinners and 14 gallons of beer, and 8 dinners for lepers, -and to every prisoner in the castle (at that time 310) a small loaf. It -maintained 26 obits in commemoration of benefactors. - -Another hospital, St. Mary Magdalene, was founded by the Dean of York, -1330, for a master, two chaplains, and six infirm or aged priests. There -was a hospital for lepers at St. Nicholas, on the Hull Road. All the -guilds had small almshouses attached. At the gate of every religious house -a daily distribution of gifts to the poor was made. There were many -beggars, who were put under charge of four headmen. - -It was the principal and most populous city of the north, and in 1377 its -population was about 11,000. In the reign of Henry V. there were forty-one -parish churches, none of any considerable size, and a large number of -chapels. The number of its clergy, regular and secular, was not less than -500.[583] - -At the end of the mediaeval period we learn from the "Valor" that few of -the incumbents of the parishes of the city of York had any income besides -personal tithes (_i.e._ the Easter dues), and the oblations of the "three -days" then customary, and casual oblations; out of which some of them had -to pay pensions to the Convent of St. Mary. - - _E.g._ the Rector of St. Michael by Ouse Bridge had personal tithe - L10, and casual oblations 20_s._ = L11; out of which he had to pay a - pension to St. Mary's Abbey of 36_s._, for synodals to the archbishop - 5_s._ 4_d._, to the archdeacon for procuration 6_s._ 8_d._, leaving - him net L8 12_s._ The Rector of St. Cross, Fossgate, had personal - tithe in Lent time L7 8_s._, casual oblations 6_s._ 8_d._, oblations - on the two days customary there, 22_s._--total L8 16_s._ 8_d._, out of - which he had to pay 20_s._ to St. Mary's Abbey, 3_s._ 6_d._ synodals, - and 6_s._ 8_d._ procuration, leaving clear income of L7 6_s._ 6_d._ - -IPSWICH in King Edward's time had 538 burgesses; the Church of Holy -Trinity, two dedicated to St. Mary, and the Churches of St. Michael, St. -Botolph, St. Lawrence, St. Peter, and St. Stephen are mentioned in -Domesday; three of these belonged to priests, and others were in lay -patronage; Culling, a burgess, had one of the St. Maries; Lefflet, a -freewoman, had St. Lawrence; Roger de Ramis held a church dedicated to St. -George, with four burgesses and six wasted mansions; Aluric, the son of -Rolf, a burgess (and also a vavasor, holding lands in Suffolk), had the -Church of St. Julian; five burgesses belonged to the Church of St. Peter; -Walter the Deacon held five houses and three waste mansions.[584] - - In the "Taxatio" the following is the value of the - benefices:--Caldwell, L4 13_s._ 4_d._; St. Clement, L6 13_s._ 4_d._; - St. Margaret, L4 13_s._ 4_d._; St. Mary at the Tower, L3 6_s._ 8_d._; - St. Lawrence, L3 6_s._ 8_d._; St. Mary Hulme, L1; St. Nichl. - (Michael?), L1 10_s._; St. Peter, L4; Stoke, L10. The Priory had at - the Reformation an income of L88 6_s._ 9_d._; St. Ellen was worth L8 - 13_s._ 7_d._; St. Stephen, L4 12_s._ 8_d._; Stoke, L12; St. Matthew, - L5; the Daundy chantry[585] in St. Lawrence worth L6 10_s._ 8_d._ - -In 1177 a convent of Austin Canons was founded in the Church of Holy -Trinity, and shortly afterwards another convent of the same order in the -Church of St. Peter; and in course of time all the parishes of the town, -except Stoke, which was on the other side of the river, were appropriated -to one or other of these two convents. Only one new parish church of St. -Matthew sprang up between the Conquest and the Reformation. A Convent of -Dominican Friars was founded here in 1270, and gained so much acceptance -among the better classes that most of the great people of the town were -buried in its cemetery. The Franciscan Friars were established here in -1297.[586] There were also three leper hospitals in the town, and an -almshouse, and one chantry in the Church of St. Lawrence.[587] - - * * * * * - -In not a few cases a great abbey was the origin of the existence of a -town. Peterborough, St. Edmund's Bury, and St. Alban's, carry the fact in -their names; and there are many others, as Burton, Wenlock, etc., etc. The -abbey employed labourers and artificers, who settled in a convenient site -under its shadow. If near a high-road, there was a frequent coming and -going of travellers of various ranks, who halted for the night, and -perhaps remained for a day or two. The abbey would be sure to obtain for -its rising town the grant of a weekly market and annual fair. The abbey -was the landlord of the ground on which the town was gradually growing; -and a wise abbot would encourage the settlement of people in his burgh, -build houses, make roads, maintain bridges, build churches, and provide -schools. - -Then there came a time when the citizens of the towns of England sought to -obtain release from feudal claims and jurisdictions, and the right of -self-government; the kings encouraged the rising municipalities, seeing in -them allies for the Crown against the nobles, and gave them charters -freely; and the citizens in many cases bought out the manorial rights of -private owners. But bishops and monasteries, while not unwilling to give -their tenants the right of association into gilds for the regulation of -their trades, were unwilling to resign the rights and jurisdiction which -they had exercised from the beginning in their lordship. We add two or -three illustrations of the ecclesiastical life of towns founded by bishops -and abbots. - -The Benedictine Abbey of Burton was founded by Ulfric Spot, Earl of -Mercia, about 1002, and endowed with so many manors that it was as great -as a barony. Abbot Bernard (1160-1175) built a church for the use of the -people who had settled outside the abbey. Abbot Nicholas, who died in -1187, founded BURTON BURGH, and built the first street there. Abbot -Melburne, who died in 1210, enlarged the town from the great bridge of -Burton (over the Trent), to the new bridge (over the Dove) towards -Horninglowe, and gave the citizens a charter, and established a fair and -market. Abbot Lawrence (1228-1260), in a time of fire and flood, took no -rent from the people. Abbot John, of Stafford, who died 1280, made the -Burgh from Bradwaie to Berele Crosse, built the Monks' Bridge over the -Dove, and made (_seldas in foro_) shops in the market-place. Abbot Bernard -built the great bridge of thirty-six arches over the Trent, with a chapel -at one end of it. It was one of the longest bridges in England--five -hundred and fifteen yards long.[588] And during a great famine in 1286, -Abbot Thomas Pakington found the people employment and wages in building a -new quarter from Cattestrete through the middle of Siwarmore to -Hikanelstrete; and built a Chapel of St. Modwen adjoining the abbey, -which, after the Reformation, became the parish church. In the time of -Abbot William Matthew, who died 1430, the high town was paved with a -gutter in the middle, and the _novus vicus_ in front of the abbey gates. - -The provision which the abbey made for the tenants of its burgh were the -parish church and the Chapel of St. Modwen; and these seem to have been -always served from the monastery; for, in the "Valor" there seems to be no -Vicar of Burton, but the convent received from the parish church, in -tithes and oblations, L32[589] a year, and from offerings at the Chapel of -St. Modwenne, 40_s._ - -The "Valor" speaks of a suburb appropriated to the serfs of the abbey, -"Vicus Nativorum." - -[Illustration: Abbey Gateway, Bury St Edmund's.] - - * * * * * - -The church and religious house which King Sigebert of the East Angles -built at Bedericsworth was of little importance till the royal martyr, St. -Edmund, was buried there; and a great monastery was built by Canute on the -spot in honour of the royal saint of East Anglia. In its most flourishing -time the monastery is said to have had 80 Benedictine monks, 15 chaplains -of the abbot and chief officials, 111 servants, and 40 priests of chapels, -chantries, and monastic appendages in the town. The town which gradually -grew up beside the abbey came to be known as the BURY OF ST. EDMUND. Its -principal streets are straight and at right angles with one another like a -town planned and built by the proprietor of the whole site. The abbey -buildings had swallowed up the original Saxon church, and the people -attended service in the nave of the abbey church, till Abbot Anselm, -wishing, it is said, to be rid of the townspeople out of the abbey church, -built the Church of St. James for them in 1125. Soon after a second Church -of St. Mary was built by the sacrist at the south-west corner of the abbey -cemetery. The abbey appointed the parish priests, and built a college for -the parochial clergy. It derived from its rectorial rights at the time of -the Reformation, as given in the "Valor," from St. Mary's L16 10_s._ -9-1/2_d._, and from St. James's L18. - -As the monastery had created the town, so it ruled it without opposition -till the desire for civil liberties which stirred the minds of the people -led some of the younger townsmen to unite themselves under colour of a -gild, the Gild of Bachelors, or young men, to endeavour to obtain -municipal rights for the town. In 1264 they closed the town gates against -an official of the abbey, and engaged in riotous proceedings, when the -abbot appealed to the Crown. The more prudent burghers got frightened, and -suppressed the Bachelors' Gild. They kept up, however, a chronic quarrel, -which culminated in open rebellion; in 1327 the townspeople broke into the -abbey, and compelled the abbot to concede the liberties they sought. But -the king strengthened the armed force at the command of the abbot, and the -townsmen were obliged five years after to renounce their claim, and sue -for pardon. - -It will be observed that where a great monastery was the lord of the town -there was no possibility of a rival monastery, and the monks did not -welcome the friars into their neighbourhood.[590] The abbot supplied -hospitals and such-like things as they were needed; here, at St. Edmund's, -there were four hospitals at its four gates, founded by different abbots, -for the entertainment of poor pilgrims. During a vacancy in the abbacy -here some Franciscans took the opportunity to establish themselves in a -house in the north part of the town; but the new abbot got rid of them in -the peremptory way in which a landlord gets rid of a contumacious -tenant--he pulled the house down over their heads. The friars appealed to -Rome; the pope directed the archbishop, and the archbishop sent his -commissaries, to conduct them into a new habitation in the west quarter of -the town; but the monks drove out both the Episcopal Commissaries and -their clients. The king sent down the chief justice to give them -possession of a new site, but the monks did not submit to the chief -justice, and made good their opposition. At length a compromise was -arrived at, and the friars were allowed to settle "outside the Four -Crosses," which marked the Liberties of St. Edmund for a mile in every -direction.[591] - - * * * * * - -Offa, the great King of the Mercians, in the eighth century, is said to -have "discovered" the relics of St. Alban, the Proto-Martyr of Britain, -and built a monastery to contain them on the site of the martyrdom. A -population gathered around the monastery. The founding of ST. ALBAN'S TOWN -is ascribed to Usinus, the sixth abbot, in the tenth century. He is said -to have built three parish churches for the people: St. Michael's, St. -Peter's, and St. Stephen's, on the north, south, and west sides of the -abbey, and established a market for them. From Domesday it appears that -the town was then part of the possessions of the abbey, and was held by -the abbey in demesne. - -[Illustration: St. Albans.] - -Early in the fourteenth century, the inhabitants tried to relieve -themselves from this hereditary jurisdiction, and wrested from Abbot -Eversden (1308-1326) the right to elect two of their number to represent -them in Parliament; but a little later Abbot Richard of Wallingford -(1326-1334) successfully disputed his predecessor's concessions. - - * * * * * - -Lastly, we have the case of the towns which grew up from small towns to -great ones, in the course of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In -this case the town often was, and continued to be, a manor, the lord -exercising the old feudal jurisdiction and maintaining his manorial -rights; the affairs of the people being regulated by the manorial courts. -In these cases there was usually only one parish church, and we have to -see the way in which, as the town grew, additional provision was made for -the increasing population. One method was by the conversion of the parish -church into a collegiate foundation with a staff of three or four -clergymen, and choir men and boys, for the maintenance of a dignified -service--this was usually done by some one pious benefactor, as at -Manchester, Wingham, and Wye.[592] Another method was for the parishioners -to provide the vicar with a staff of chaplains, and to endow special -services, as at Sheffield and Newark. Each of these methods may be -illustrated by a brief history of the examples named. - -Domesday Survey records the existence of two churches in MANCHESTER of -which it is probable that one, St. Mary's, was the parish church of the -town; and the other, St. Michael's, a dependent church at -Ashton-under-Lyne. In the fourteenth century it was one of the most -wealthy and populous towns in the county of Lancaster; and since the -priest of the place is sometimes called the Dean of Manchester, it was -perhaps the head of an extensive deanery. Its church was of timber, as -that of Marston, in Cheshire, is to this day. - -[Illustration: Manchester Cathedral.] - -Thomas la Ware, second son of Roger Lord la Ware, was rector in 1398, when -by the death of his elder brother he succeeded to the Barony of la Ware, -which included the manor. Desiring to make better provision for the -inhabitants of the town, he obtained a licence from King Henry V., in -1421, to convert the parish church into a collegiate church, with a warden -and so many fellows as should seem good to the body of feoffees who held -the advowson and to the founder. All the powers ecclesiastical and civil -having given their consent, the churchwardens and parishioners, including -various influential knights, esquires, and gentlemen, were called together -by the tolling of the church bell, and then and there expressed their full -consent by petition to the bishop. The staff was composed of a warden, -eight fellows, four clerks, and six choristers; the bishop gave them a -body of statutes which occupy a large space in his extant register; and -Lord la Ware built a college for their residence adjoining the church. The -first warden, John Huntingdon, began the erection of a new and larger -church. - -The college was confiscated by Edward VI. and turned into a vicarage, but -re-established by Queen Mary. Queen Elizabeth renewed the charter of -foundation for a warden and four fellows, two chaplains, four laymen, and -four children skilled in music. Charles I. again renewed it. In 1847, the -diocese of Manchester was created, and the collegiate foundation afforded -a suitable cathedral church with a dean and four canons already endowed. - - * * * * * - -As another example of the way in which a single benefactor sometimes made -extra provision for the spiritual wants of a town, we take the case of the -little town of ROTHERHAM, in Yorkshire. It had a church at the time of the -Conquest. In subsequent times, two great families, the Vescis and Tillis, -shared the manor and the church between them. - -At the time of the "Taxatio" (1291) the rectory had been divided into -moieties; one moiety had been appropriated to the Abbot of Clairvaux, who -received L16 13_s._ 4_d._ from it, besides a stipend of L5, which he paid -to the vicar of that moiety; Sir Roger was the rector of the other moiety, -who received L21 13_s._ 4_d._, and he also was represented by a vicar; -moreover, the prior of Lewes had a pension of L1 6_s._ 8_d._ out of the -rectory.[593] The earlier church gave place, in the reign of Edward IV., -to a more spacious and handsome building, but its clerical staff still -consisted of two vicars and several chantry priests. - -The Archbishop of York, for the last twenty years of the fifteenth -century, was known by the name of Thomas of Rotherham. His family name was -Scott, but having been born at Rotherham, he took the name of his native -place, as we have seen was the custom of Churchmen in the Middle Ages. -Before his death, he adopted another good custom of the time, by raising -for himself a memorial in his native place, and conferring a benefit upon -it in the shape of a perpetual foundation. His will is still in existence, -and the following particulars are chiefly taken from it. He was, he says, -born of people of the yeoman class in the town of Rotherham, and baptized -in the parish church, "in the sacred fountain flowing from the side of -Jesus. O that I loved this Name as I ought and would!" So, lest he should -seem ungratefully forgetful of these things, he founded a perpetual -college in the Name of Jesus in the said town. This was to take the place -of an earlier foundation of the twenty-second year of Edward IV., in which -he had received his own education under a teacher of grammar so skilful -that other of his scholars as well as he had been enabled to rise to -higher fortunes. His first purpose was to establish a learned teacher of -grammar there for all time, who should teach gratis all who came to him. -Then, having seen how the chantry priests of the town lived, some in one -place, some in another, with the laity, to the scandal of one and the ruin -of the others,[594] he determined to erect a college where the first -should teach grammar, and the others might live and lodge. Thirdly, since -he had observed that there are many parishioners attending the church, and -that many rustic people of the neighbourhood flock to it that they may the -better love the Christian religion, he establishes a second perpetual -fellow to teach singing gratis, and to have for his food and clothing L6 -13_s._ 4_d._; and six chorister boys, that they may celebrate the Divine -office there more honourably, and each of them to have 40_s._ a year for -food and clothing. Fourthly, since there are many very intelligent youths -who do not all wish to attain the clerical dignity, but are adapted for -mechanical arts and other occupations, he provides a third Socius, who -shall teach the arts of writing and reckoning gratis. But since the arts -of writing, music, and grammar are subordinate, and servants of the Divine -law and the gospel, he ordains that there shall be a theologian placed -above the three fellows in the rule and government of the house, with the -name of provost, who shall be a B.D. at least, and shall be required to -preach the word of God through the whole of the founder's province of -York; he is to have for food and clothing L13 6_s._ 8_d._ "Thus I have -incorporated in my college one provost, three fellows, and six choristers, -that where I have offended God in His ten commandments, these ten may pray -for me." As to the chantry priests, he gave them their chambers in the -college; they were to dine at the college-table, paying for their food, -but having the services of the cook, washerwoman, and barber gratis. The -provost and fellows were to attend Divine service on festivals in the -parish church in their surplices; at other times in the college chapel; -and to celebrate his obit. There were five chantry priests living in the -college at the time when the foundation, by which good Thomas of Rotherham -made a monument for himself, and conferred a great benefit on his native -town, was dissolved and swept away at the Reformation. - - * * * * * - -The neighbouring town of SHEFFIELD will afford an example of the way in -which the inhabitants of a town sometimes made extra spiritual provision -for themselves. At the Conquest, all this part of Yorkshire was a wild and -thinly-peopled region. The Countess Judith, niece of the Conqueror, and -wife of Waltheof, placed a colony of monks from Fontenelle near Havre, at -Ecclesfield near Sheffield. The whole district of Hallamshire descended -from the countess to William de Lovelot, who had his principal castle at -Sheffield, and no doubt was the founder of the church here. Subsequently -he founded a Priory of Austin Canons at Worksop, and among other property -gave to them the church and one-third of the tithe of Sheffield.[595] - -The canons always presented to the vicarage of Sheffield one of their -number, who was not thereby cut off from the convent; for one of them, -Upton, was recalled from Sheffield to be the prior of the house at -Worksop. - -In the latter part of the fifteenth century we learn that there were -endowments for a Light or Gild of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and for a -Chantry or Service of St. Catherine, in the church. - -In 1498, William Hine left certain tenements in trust for the four church -greves or church masters to receive the rents, and thereof "to pay yearly -to the priest of St. Catherine singing mass in the said church, 7_s._ at -Whitsuntide for the better support and augmentation of the service thereof -called St. Catherine's Service, the church maisters to have 12_d._ for -attending at his obit." If the conditions of the will were not fulfilled, -the feoffees were to pay the profits to the burgesses for the repair of -bridges, causeways, and highways within a mile of the town. The history of -the matter is a little obscure, but it appears that the inhabitants of the -town had by voluntary contributions supplied the vicar with stipends for -three chaplains to assist him in ministering to the town and the scattered -hamlets; that about fourteen years before the Statute of Chantries, _i.e._ -in the year 1533, the Guardians of the endowed chantry began to -contribute L17 a year towards the maintenance of these three chaplains in -sums of L7, L5, and L5. The Commissioners of Chantries returned it as "a -service or perpetual stipend of three priests in the church there," and it -was confiscated with other chantries. On the accession of Queen Mary, at -the petition of the men of Sheffield, the charity was refounded and put -into the hands of twelve church burgesses to hold the property of the -ancient endowment and devote it to the support of three chaplains to -assist the vicar as well in the visitation of the people as in Divine -service and the other sacraments in church, and to apply the surplus to -the repair of bridges and ways.[596] - -We find, then, that in a town which was all one parish with one great -church, though the person in charge of the souls of the people was only a -solitary vicar with a small income, there were often really a considerable -number of clergy grouped around him, and that the services of the Church -were better maintained than we should perhaps have expected. On a Sunday -morning there would be several celebrations of Holy Communion at different -hours in the chantry chapels, and some, if not all the priests of the -chantries and special services were bound to be in choir at matins, high -mass, and evensong, and take part in the service. Nearly every such town -would have its grammar school, taught by a Clerk in Holy Orders; and we -may be tolerably sure that the school would furnish choristers for choral -matins and evensong. We have learnt that the lay people were solicitous -for the honour of Divine service in their parish church, and may be sure -that the vicar had little difficulty in obtaining funds for the purchase -of "a pair of organs" and the stipend of an organist, and for all other -expenses of Divine worship. On week-days the vicar would provide at least -daily mass, matins and evensong, and the chantries and special services -would supply other masses. - -In the pastoral care of the people, too, the vicar of a great parish was -not left single-handed. Probably (as has been already said) each chantry -priest, and, still more, each priest of a gild or service had a group of -persons--the relatives of their founder, or brothers and sisters of their -fraternity--who looked to them for spiritual ministrations; but besides -these, the vicar sometimes had chaplains who were assistant-curates. The -calendar of chantries, etc., refers to a number of endowments for -"stipendiaries," of which some are named in conjunction with chantries and -gilds as if they were cantarists, but others in conjunction with parishes -as if they were simply parish chaplains. - -Let us take NEWARK as our last example. - -Leofric, the great Earl of Mercia, and Godiva his wife, gave this manor to -the monastery of Stow. Remigius, the first Norman Bishop of Lincoln, held -it in demesne; and then, according to Domesday, it had ten churches and -eight priests; the churches and priests were probably in the place itself -and in the sixteen sokes under its jurisdiction, the names of which we -recognize in the names of the neighbouring villages for some miles round -on the left bank of the Trent. Alexander, the next bishop, built a -castle[597] here on the bank of the Trent; and the town seems to have -grown up into importance, owing partly to its situation on the Fossway and -the Trent, and partly to the protection and fostering care of the -bishops. When Henry II. founded the Priory (of Sempringham nuns) of St. -Katherine, near Lincoln, he endowed it, among other properties, with the -Church of Newark. A convent of Austin Friars was planted here and another -of Observants (Franciscans), and the Knights of the Temple had a -preceptory here. - -[Illustration: Newark Church, Nottinghamshire.] - -The town, as one of the halting-places of the funeral progress of Queen -Eleanor, was ornamented with one of the crosses with which the king marked -every step of that great pageant. - -To come to more recent times, and to the particulars with which we are -most concerned, the borough was one parish[598] under the care of a vicar; -and its parish church,[599] rebuilt in the reign of Henry VI., is a very -large and noble structure, with its chancel screen and carved stalls, and -some fine carving, still remaining uninjured. We have already had occasion -to give the particulars of the income of the vicar,[600] which amounted at -the time of the "Valor" to L21, and of the outgoings, which included a -stipend of L5 for a chaplain,[601] we have to add here the services and -priests which helped to complete the religious arrangements of the town. - -The Calendar of Chantries, etc., so often quoted, gives the following list -of them-- - - St. Nicholas' Chantry, a chantry at the altar of St. James; - Sawcendine's Chantry; "Morrow Mass" Chantry; St. Catherine's Chantry; - Corpus Christi Chantry, founded by Fleming;[602] Corpus Christi - Chantry, founded by Isabell Caldwell; Newark Chantry; Trinity Chantry; - All Saints' Chantry; Foster's Chantry; Trinity Gild[603] Chantry; - Trinity Chantry, founded by John Leeke. - -There are thirteen chantries in all. One we note was for a "Morrow Mass," -_i.e._ a very early celebration of Holy Communion; the rest would be -arranged at various hours. The Trinity Gild was the great gild of the -town, which here, as in many other towns, supplied, to some extent, the -place of a municipal corporation. - -Some solidarity was given to this group of cantarists by the fact that -they lived together in a mansion which a benefactor had provided for them. -The internal economy of the mansion would require some regulation which -would not improbably be borrowed from the rules which were customary in a -college of priest-vicars, or chantry house of several priests. The rules -for the chantry priests lodging in Archbishop Rotherham's College,[604] -and those for the chapel at Kingston-on-Thames,[605] will indicate their -general character. - -Thomas Magnus, Archdeacon of the East Riding of York, a native of the town -just before the Reformation (1532), founded at the north-west point of the -churchyard a free school for a priest sufficiently learned to teach -grammar, who was to be paid L10; together with a song school for a -priest[606] sufficiently learned to teach plain song and play the organ, -who was to have L8; and six children to be taught music, and to play upon -the organs, who were to have 26_s._ 8_d._ each. The founder also founded -an obit of 40_s._, and 40_s._ to be given to the alderman [of the Holy -Trinity Gild] for the time being. - -The cathedral-like choir of the church would then be well filled on -Sundays and holy days by the vicar and his chaplain and the thirteen -cantarists and the children of the song school, and the Divine service -honourably rendered, and the long nave would doubtless be filled with the -devout people. The whole clerical staff of the town consisted of the -vicar, his chaplain and clerk, the brethren of the two friaries, perhaps a -dozen in each, the thirteen cantarists in their chantry house: nearly -forty men, besides the military monks in the preceptory. - - * * * * * - -Besides monks and friars, rectors and vicars, cantarists, and chaplains of -various kinds, there was still another kind of religious persons to be -found in many towns, viz. Recluses. The first recluses were enclosed in -the Egyptian deserts in a narrow cell; but in process of time a churchyard -was taken to be a sufficiently solitary place, and the cell sometimes -consisted of two or more fairly comfortable rooms built against the -chancel wall of the church. There lived an old hermit or priest, or a -religious woman, supported partly by an endowment, partly by the offerings -and bequests of the people. Their picturesque asceticism attracted the -interest and veneration of impressible people, who would consult them in -the affairs of their souls, and no doubt in their social difficulties -also, and receive more or less good council according to the character of -the recluse.[607] - - -BRIDGE-CHAPELS. - -There is still another feature wanting to complete (in many cases) this -survey of the ecclesiastical aspect of a mediaeval town. A good hard road -through a wild boggy tract, or a raised causeway across the often flooded -valley in which the town was situated, or a stone bridge in place of a -dangerous ford or inconvenient ferry, conferred a very real benefit upon -the whole community, from the king in his royal progresses through the -country to the peasantry who brought their produce to the weekly market. -Men wisely included road-making and bridge-building among meritorious acts -of charity, and the calendar of chantries, etc., contains a number of -endowments which were given or bequeathed for these purposes. Very -frequently the pious builder of a bridge added a religious foundation to -it in the shape of a little chapel; sometimes the chapel was built at one -end of the bridge; more commonly, perhaps, the central pier on one side of -the bridge was enlarged, and the chapel picturesquely erected upon it. The -chapel was endowed with a stipend for a perpetual chantry priest to say -prayers there for the family of the bridge-builder, and for all Christian -people; and no doubt the founder hoped for himself the prayers of all the -Christian people who used his bridge. Those of us who, lounging about the -churches of other countries as sight-seers, have seen the market women -come in, set down their baskets on the floor, and kneel down for a few -moments for silent prayer, will easily understand the practical religious -uses of these bridge-chapels. - -[Illustration: Bridge and Chapel, Wakefield.] - -Perhaps the chapel built on the new stone London Bridge of 1176 was one of -the earliest and the most important of them. It was built over a crypt on -the central pier on the eastern side of the bridge, and dedicated to St. -Thomas the Martyr, who had been canonized three years before. It had a -master and fraternity, and several chantries were founded in it. Bideford -Bridge, one of the longest at that time in the kingdom, was built in 1350, -on the initiative of the parish priest, Sir R. Gurney, who had a vision of -an angel showing him where to build. The lord of the manor, Sir Theodore -Granville, Knight, gave the undertaking his countenance and aid; -Grandisson, the Bishop of Exeter, gave his licence to collect money backed -by the promise of indulgences, and the bridge was made with its 23 arches, -177 yards long. In later times, the estates of the Bridge Gild were under -the management of a warden and brethren, who not only kept the bridge in -repair, but also built a hall for their meetings and a school beside it, -founded charities, gave dinners, and kept to that end--Charles Kingsley in -"Westward Ho!" is our authority for saying it--the best stocked cellar in -all Devon. There is a good example of a bridge-chapel still remaining on -the centre pier of Rotherham bridge, and another at Wakefield, served by -two chaplains. We have remains or notes of others: two at Nottingham, one, -_super altem pontem_, dedicated to St. James, the other, _ad finem -pontis_, dedicated to St. Mary; at Newcastle, dedicated to St. Thomas; at -Camelford, dedicated to St. Thomas, built by the burgesses of the town; at -Exeter, founded by the mayor and bailiffs of the city; at Stamford, -dedicated to St. Thomas; at Elvet, dedicated to St. James; two at York, -St. Anne's on Fossbridge and St. William's on Ouse bridge; Burton, at one -end of the long bridge over the Trent; at Doncaster, where the bridge had -a stone gateway with a chapel of "Our Lady" beside it at one end, and a -stone cross beside the entrance to the bridge at the other end; and at -many other places, as Durham, Manchester, Rochester, Bidenham, Totton, -Gronethe, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary; at Sheffield, Darfield, -etc. Sometimes a hospital for the entertainment of poor travellers was -built at the end of a bridge, as at Burton and at Nottingham;[608] at -Brandford there was a chapel-house and hospital _juxta pontem_.[609] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -DISCIPLINE. - - -The average Englishman of the present day has hardly an idea of what is -meant by ecclesiastical discipline, and is quite ignorant of the large -part which it played in the practical religious life of people in ancient -times. Yet its principles are laid down in the New Testament; the right -and duty of the Church to hear and determine causes between Christian men -is contained in our Lord's command, "If thy brother trespass against thee -... tell it to the Church; and if he neglect to hear the Church, let him -be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican" (Matt. xviii. 17). The -general recognition and exercise of this jurisdiction is alluded to in the -apostolic writings (1 Cor. vi. 4; x. 32); and St. Paul gives several -actual examples of its enforcement (1 Cor. v. 5; 1 Tim. i. 20). The Church -in all times and places has maintained this power of spiritual discipline -to be one of its fundamental principles. - -The special jurisdiction which the decree of William the Conqueror gave to -the Ecclesiastical Courts over ecclesiastical persons, and over lay -persons in ecclesiastical cases, was perhaps an encroachment upon the -province of the civil law, but the spiritual jurisdiction involved in our -Lord's Command is independent of the sanction of the civil magistrate. - -This spiritual discipline is an important aid to the power of the civil -magistrate in the Christian community. Where the magistrate's power stops, -that of the pastorate steps in. The magistrate can only take cognizance of -crimes, and punish a man for offences against another; the Church takes -cognizance of sins, and deals with a man _pro salute animae_. If the sin -has not caused scandal, the penance inflicted may be of a private nature; -but if it has caused scandal, the punishment is public, "that others may -learn not to offend." - -The penitential system in the Saxon Church, as we learn it from the -penitential known by the name of Archbishop Theodore, was a very elaborate -system, classifying sins and assigning penalties to them; it was confirmed -in some particulars by the ecclesiastical enactments of kings. In greater -matters the case came before the sheriff and bishop at the Shiremote or -Hundredmote, and the sentence was enforced by the same power which -executed the civil sentences of the same court. In the Ecclesiastical -Courts after the Norman Conquest, the bishop, and in some matters the -archdeacons under his authority, tried the cause, and in case of -resistance to the sentence applied for a royal writ to be sent to the -sheriff to enforce it. In most cases the knowledge that the Bishop's Court -had the civil power at its back was enough to lead men to submit to its -authority. In the last resort the spiritual authority had the sentence of -excommunication to fall back upon.[610] - -The discipline of the clergy was specially in the hands of the bishop and -his archdeacons, who dealt with moral offences and ecclesiastical -irregularities in their courts. The famous Constitutions of Otho (1237), -followed up by those of Archbishop Stephen Langton, enacted, that in every -rural deanery one rector should be appointed to hear the confessions of -the clergy. Archbishop Peckham, in 1281, complains that it had not been -done, and renews the ordinance. This was not to prevent the clergy from -going to other penitentiaries appointed by the bishop. - -Archbishop Greenfield of York (1310) issued an injunction, engrossed by a -public notary, ordering a certain Ralph de Grave, Canon of Worksop, who -had proved contumacious, to betake himself within three days to the -monastery of Bridlington, and there to do penance for his rebellious -behaviour.[611] - -Among Grostete's letters is one to a cleric, in which he rebukes his -luxurious and licentious life, and tells him roundly that he is "a blot on -the clergy, a shame to theologians, a delight to the enemies of religion, -a derision and song and story to the vulgar."[612] - - Robert Coton, for a sermon preached at Atcham, near Shrewsbury, - containing heretical teaching, was sentenced to carry a faggot in - procession round the cathedral, and afterwards round Atcham - Church.[613] - - Robert Segefeld, chaplain, in 1455, confessing immorality, is - sentenced to public penance in his chapel and in the cathedral, and to - pay 6_s._ 8_d._ to St. Cuthbert's shrine. This penance consisted in - walking barefoot, in linen vestments (_pannis lineis_), carrying a - candle before the procession, on a Sunday.[614] - - Thomas Ferby, December 7, 1456, prayed to be released from the - excommunication he had incurred for procuring the celebration of a - clandestine marriage in St. Paul's Cray Church. As a penance, he was - ordered to visit the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury on Easter Day, - and there offer a wax taper of one pound weight. The like offering was - to be made to St. Blaize at Bromley and in Chislehurst Church. In - addition, he was to allow exhibitions to two scholars at Oxford for - two years. Ferby afterwards came to an understanding with his - diocesan, and was dismissed from the suit. In the next February, John, - chaplain of Paul's Cray, doubtless the priest who had officiated on - the occasion, swore before the bishop, in the cathedral, not to offend - again, and was absolved.[615] He redeemed his penance by taking an - oath to pay a mark at Lady Day in that and the two ensuing years.[616] - -[Illustration: SIX KNIGHTS DOING PENANCE AT THE SHRINE OF ST. EDMUND. XV. -CENT. MS., 2278 f., 108 v., HARL.] - -The bishops had to deal, not only with the moral offences of the clergy, -but also with the occasional crimes committed by members of this -privileged class. Degradation from Orders, and imprisonment with -penitential discipline, seems to have been the usual mode of punishment. -We have seen that a Constitution of Archbishop Boniface, 1260, directed -every bishop to have in his diocese one or two prisons for confining -clerics flagitious in crime, or convicted by canonical censure, and that -any cleric committing a crime such that if he were a layman he would, -according to the secular law, suffer the extreme penalty, should be -adjudged to perpetual imprisonment. - - This spiritual power was strong enough to cope with the most powerful - offenders. We all remember how Henry II., able and powerful king as he - was, submitted to discipline at the hands of the monks of Canterbury - Cathedral, before the shrine of St. Thomas. - - The turbulent Fulke de Breaute, in the reign of Henry III., had - plundered St. Alban's Abbey and taken some refugees out of its - sanctuary. Being warned by the saint in a dream, he offered himself at - the monastery to suffer penance; and there despoiled of his clothes, - with his knights similarly stripped, bearing in hand a rod, "which is - vulgarly called baleis," and confessing his fault, he received the - discipline from each of the brothers on his naked flesh.[617] He - refused, however, to make restitution. - - When Thomas of Cantilupe was Bishop of Hereford (1275-1283), Lord - Clifford plundered his cattle and ill-treated his tenants. When - summoned by the bishop to make amends for his misconduct, he offered - to do so by a money payment; but the bishop compelled him to walk - barefoot as a penitent to the altar, while the bishop himself - inflicted chastisement upon him as he walked.[618] - - John Langton, Bishop of Chichester, c. 1314, excommunicated Earl - Warren for adultery. The earl came to Chichester and endeavoured to - seize the bishop; but Langton and his servants not only repelled the - attack, but captured the earl and his retinue and put them all in - prison. - -The accompanying plate is from Lydgate's "Life of Edmund VI." (Harl. 2278, -f. 108 and f. 108 v.). Preceding it is a picture of five knights issuing -from the gate of the abbey laden with plunder, and keeping the monks at -bay at the sword's point; next this picture of the knights stripped to -their drawers, making their submission to the abbot and his clerks at the -shrine of the saint. Between the two pictures the story is told thus: - - Knightes of yoe of malice and ravyne, - Agen the fredom of Edmund ful confiable, - Habergowned and in platis fyne, - Entered his court, took hors out yf his stable, - With swerdes drawe to shewe hemself vengable, - Lyst any man wolde make resistence, - Hadde forth the pray beytort violence. - - But sodenly thus with hem it stood, - Or they passyd the boudes of the gate, - Travayled with furye and echon was wood, - Repented, after offered up mayl and plate, - Confessed, assoiled, in cronycle set the date, - Ever after off hool affeccion, - Hadde to the martyr gret devocion. - -We must bear in mind that these were the days when civil penalties -included the stocks and the pillory and whipping through the streets at a -cart's tail. - - In 1344, a sheriff's officer, who slew a rector, resisting the attempt - to arrest him, was, with his followers, condemned to walk, stripped to - their breeches, like the knights at St. Edmund's, round the principal - churches of the district, and to be whipped at the door of each - church.[619] And such instances might be indefinitely multiplied. - - About 1284, Archbishop Peckham made a provincial visitation, in which - he exercised severe discipline on both clergy and laity. For example, - in Lichfield Diocese, the bishop being a foreigner and non-resident, - the archbishop sent a public summons to him to reside, on penalty of - deprivation, telling him that since he could not preach to his people, - he was the rather bound to reside among them, and to spend his revenue - in hospitality and relieving the poor. In Chichester Diocese, he - inflicted upon one John Ham, a priest, convicted of immorality, a - three years' penance of fasting, prayers, and pilgrimage, during which - time the profits of his living were sequestrated to the poor. In - Wilts, being informed that Sir Osborn Gyfford had carried off two nuns - from the Monastery of Wilton, he proceeded to excommunication against - him, and only consented to remit the censure on these conditions: that - he should be stripped to the waist on three Sundays in Wilton Parish - Church and beaten with rods; the discipline to be publicly repeated - both in the market-place and parish church of Shaftesbury; should fast - for three months, and go on a three years' pilgrimage to Jerusalem; - should not wear a sword, or appear in the habit of a gentleman. - - Grostete, Bishop of Lincoln, instituted an inquiry into the morals of - the laity as well as clergy in his diocese, but the king, Henry III., - interposed, and obliged him to desist. - -But to come to a different class of offenders, and to various kinds of -misdoing. It will be enough to select a few examples. - - 1253. Hugo de Berewyk found surety of ten marks to behave properly to - his wife, and he was sentenced, for "that he had long been - excommunicate, that without shoes or girdle or [sword?] he should - receive the discipline in the porch of the Church of Gysele, before - the whole procession, once on the day of the Holy Trinity, a second - time on the day of St. John Baptist, and the third time on the day of - SS. Peter and Paul."[620] - - When Bishop Ralph, of Bath and Wells, in 1348, visited Ilchester, the - people of the place made a riot, attacked the bishop and his people, - and shut them up in the church for some hours, till they were rescued - by the well-affected. The riot was punished by excommunication of the - offenders, and interdict of the Church. One of the ringleaders, Roger - Warmville, was tried at Taunton by the Commissary, and sentenced to - penance. He was to walk on three several occasions, bareheaded and - barefoot, round Ilchester Church, in front of the procession made on - Sundays and feast days, holding a candle, which he was to present at - the altar during mass, while a chaplain declared his sin to the - congregation in the vulgar tongue. Moreover, he was to be flogged - thrice on market days at Ilchester, Wells, Bath, Glastonbury, and - Somerton; he was to pay a fine of L20, and make a pilgrimage to - Canterbury in honour of St. Thomas the Martyr.[621] - - In 1474, a case of homicide between the Lamberts and the Knolls, by - the award of Wm. Blackburn, Canon of Bolton, it was awarded and - ordained that Thomas, Henry, Richard, Stephen and Thomas Knoll of - Floder, "come to the parish church of Preston, and there in tyme of - service, kneling on their knees, loose gerded, ask God forgivenes of - ye dethe of Henrie Lambert, and ask forgivenes of his fader John - Lambert, and pay xl marks to ye behofe of Jo. Lambert and his - children, unto Ric. Pilkinton, Esq., on the awter of St. Nicholas, in - the parish church of Skypton."[622] - - All kinds of offences were dealt with by similar penalties. Richard - Ram confessing that he had not paid the tithe of his corn to his - rector of Cliffe, in 1363, was sentenced to carry a sheaf of corn on - his shoulder to the altar of Cliffe Church, and there to offer it and - the value of the tithe withheld.[623] - - Among the cases recorded in the "Proceedings of the Courts of Durham," - p. 26, we find, in a case of immorality, the man sentenced to receive - four "fustigations" round the church, and the woman two. - - For non-attendance at church on Sundays, we have already quoted - several cases (p. 201). - - In 1480, nine parishioners of Halling and Snodland[624] were summoned - to the court for playing tennis on Thursday in Whitsun-week in time of - matins and mass. They pleaded guilty, and took an oath to perform - whatever penance the bishop might impose. The sentence was that those - of Snodland should walk barefoot after the procession on the following - Sunday, each carrying a taper worth a halfpenny, which they should - offer at the Holy Cross. The Halling men were to do the like, with - this difference, that they were each to offer two tapers at the high - altar and two at the altar of St. John. - - William Bek, of Cooling, was cited into the court of John Alcock - (1476-1486), Bishop of Rochester, in consequence of having been - detected by his wife and neighbours in eating meat on Fridays and - other fasts. Bek confessed his guilt, though he doubted if he had - offended in Lent, but pleaded that he was not responsible for his - actions, since his mind had been so much disturbed for three years - that he only knew Sunday because his wife on that day offered him the - consecrated bread. The plea did not avail. It was ordered that as a - penance he should be thrice whipped round Cooling Church, before the - procession, clad in a white cloth, with bare head and feet, and - carrying a taper of the value of one penny. Further, that on Friday he - should be whipped in Rochester market in like manner, and should offer - a taper at the shrine of St. William.[625] - - Margaret Reed, in 1469, is brought before the Court for using ill - language to Martha Howkett, in that she told her she was a "horse - godmother and waterwitch." So, in 1560, Wm. Lee is reported to have - said to Bayle, who was reported to be a deacon at Durham, "Methenketh - ye goeth not lyk a man of the church, but lyk a ruffing." To whom the - said Bayle answered, "What hast thou to do with my apparell or my - going? Thou art a slave and a knave to find fault with me."[626] - -There are many other instances of defamation, at p. 90, etc. Here is an -example of a little later date than our period, which shows exactly what -was the way of making amends for the offence of defamation:-- - - A confession to be made by Charles Shawe for slandering Bar. Mitforth - in St. Nicoles Church, in lynen apparell, after the reading of the - third chapter of St. James' Epistle-- - - "Beloved neighbours, I am now comen hither to shewe myself sory for - slannderinge one Bartram Midforde, namely in that I called him openly - 'beggerly harlot and cutthrote,' saying that he 'was a covitous - snowge, and such as he by Godd's worde aught to be weded out of the - Coomenwelthe.' I acknowledge that thus to slannder my Xtian brother is - an heynouse offence, first towardes God, who hathe straightly - forbydden it in his holy lawes, accountyng it to be a kind of - murderinge my neighbour, and threatninge to punyshe it with hell fire - and the losse of the kyngdome of heavene. Also the Queen's lawes, - against which I have stubbornely stande, doth grevously punyshe all - slannderers, backbiters, and sowers of discorde, debate, hatred, and - disquietnes, to the shame of the offenders and feare of others. - Agayne, my unruly tongue, if it were not punished, it wolde not only - set mo of you on fire, but also it wolde bolden others to do the like. - Wherefore, as I am now called back frome myne inordinate doinges by - this correction, with my coste and shame, so I beseche yow all to be - witnesses with me that I am sory frome the verrey bottome of my harte - for this and my other like offences against God, the Quene's majestie, - and the said Bertram Mydforde; promysinge before God and you here - present, that I fully intende to amende my outerageous tonge and - wilfull behaviour, as maye please Almightie God, satisfye the Quene's - lawes, and towrne to yur good example and myne owne sowle's health; - for the obteyninge and performinge thereof I humbly beseche yow all, - with me and for me, to pray unto God as our Saviour Jesus Xt. himself, - beinge on earth, taught us, sayinge 'Our Father,' etc. A.D. - 1570."[627] - - A suit was begun in 1458 against John Andrew of Cobham and Margery - Allyn, late of Shorne, for having clandestinely married while a - matrimonial cause was pending between her and Richard Coke. They were - sentenced, December 20, to be whipped "after the manner of penitents" - once in Rochester market and thrice round their parish church. Walter - Crepehogg, who had promoted the marriage, was thought the worst - offender, for besides _six_ whippings he was condemned to carry a - torch worth 6_s._ 8_d._ to the altar of the cathedral, and to make a - similar offering to St. Blaize at Bromley.[628] - -Occasionally a contumacious person resisted the sentence. For example-- - - In 1315, Lady Plokenet [Plucknet] directed by will that she should be - buried in Sherborne Church. Her son, Sir Alan, probably to save - expense, buried her "in a less dignified place." The bishop sent him - orders by the Rector of Dowlish Wake, who was the Rural Dean of - Crewkerne, to obey his mother's request. Falling into a rage at this, - the knight rushed on the dean, caught him by the throat, and choaked - him by twisting his hood, and even caused him to bleed. The dean got - away, and fled. At Haslebury, however, Sir Alan and his men caught - him, and there the knight made him eat the bishop's letter, and chew - and swallow the wax seals. For this he was excommunicated, but made - due submission.[629] - -In the "Proceedings of the Durham Court" we read that-- - - John Doffenby, being a person excommunicate, did come into Mitfourth - Church in tyme of service, and being admonished to depart thrice, - would not, but gave evil language, saying that he cared not for the - commissary and his laws, nor for the curate, and bade them come who - durst and carry him out of the church; whereupon the curate was driven - to leave off service at the gospel. It does not appear what was the - end of the case. - - Agnes Hebburne, 1454, having been sentenced to do penance in _pannis - lineis_, impudently pleaded that she had not a fit smock, and was not - able to buy one; whereupon the judge ordered her to do her penance in - a "tunica habens unam vestem vocatur le napron." - -There are some pictorial illustrations of the subject in the illuminated -MSS. The scourging of Henry II. before the shrine of Becket is often -portrayed. In the Omne Bonum (Royal, 6 Ed. VI., f. 218 v.) is a very -curious picture of a priest giving the discipline to a penitent kneeling -before him;[630] and at f. 443 (6 E. VII.), a man scourging himself on the -bare back in his bedroom. In a Pontifical printed at Venice, 1520, f. 155, -penitents in their shirts are kneeling before the bishop; a man kneeling -to a priest who lays the rod of absolution on his shoulder, at 203 v., and -Reconciliation of Penitents at the end of Lent, f. 177. - -There are two sides to most questions, and what a man will say upon any -question depends upon his point of view. What we are told of clergy and -laity of those ages by courts of discipline which dealt exclusively with -their peccadilloes, and by the satirists whose motive was the scourging of -the peccators, gives us one side of the subject. Nobody took the trouble -to tell the obvious, uninteresting story of the ruck of parsons of -respectable character who were doing their daily round of duty, Sunday and -workaday, fairly well, except Chaucer, and he--great student of human life -and manners that he was--while scourging with a whip of scorpions the -faults of monks and friars, and pardoners and "sompnours," completes his -gallery of ecclesiastical characters with the loveliest portrait of the -typical parish priest. - -The inquisitorial meddling of the courts of spiritual discipline, their -pecuniary exactions and shameful penances, were by no means the least of -the abuses which made men cry out for a reformation. - - * * * * * - -In connection with this system of discipline was the custom of pronouncing -a general sentence of excommunication in church several times a year which -is mentioned by John Myrc (p. 238). We may add here that it was not at all -uncommon to try to bring an unknown thief to make restitution by the -threat of a sentence of excommunication; thus Bishop Thomas, in 1376, at -the request of Philip de Nevile, directs all the clergy to give notice -that some persons unknown have knowingly detained a very valuable hawk, -and they are to restore it within ten days on pain of the greater -excommunication.[631] Two years afterwards (1378), the same bishop -excommunicates certain persons who have stolen some "merlions" from his -forest of Wesdale, and destroyed their nests.[632] On the other hand, the -old Saxon system of purgation of oath still continued, _e.g._ in 1458, -William Godthank, accused of theft, appeared in Gnosall Church, Lichfield, -with eight of his neighbours, and standing before the altar he swore that -he was innocent, and his neighbours that they believed him, whereupon the -bishop threatened excommunication against any one who should in future -slander him.[633] - -Archbishop Peckham's third constitution at Reading (1279) orders the -General Excommunications to be explained to the people on the Sundays -after every Rural Chapter, and the archdeacons to see that it is -done.[634] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. - - -The subject of the religious condition of the parish priests and their -people in the Middle Ages--their belief and life--brings us into a -polemical atmosphere. There are some admirers of those times who look upon -them as "the Ages of Faith;" there are others who think that in those -times of false doctrines and manifold superstitions priests and people -were generally degraded and vicious. - -The truth lies somewhere between the two. We do not propose to enter into -polemical discussion. Our business, as it seems to us, is to try to put -ourselves into the midst of the people, to enter into their minds, to -study their lives, and to represent as fairly as we can what manner of men -priests and people were, what they believed, and how they lived. - -We seem to see on the whole that there were two "schools of thought" in -the Middle Ages. One consisted of learned men of a speculative turn of -mind, who explained and developed ancient doctrines and practices into new -and erroneous meanings; followed by a crowd of devout people who adopted -their views, and sometimes degraded philosophical speculations and pious -opinions, which they hardly understood, into gross misapprehensions and -superstitions. On the other hand, there were people of competent learning, -who read the Scriptures and the ancient Fathers, and in substance adhered -to their teaching; and with them remained a crowd of people whose -Christian common sense kept them fairly free of extravagances. We must be -careful in judging people who have been brought up in a faulty system. We -must not take for granted that everybody believed in every error and in -the conclusions logically involved in it, or approved of every -superstitious custom. On the contrary, the soul, like the stomach, seems -to discriminate what it lives on, and to have a power of assimilating what -is good, and rejecting more or less what is noxious. Why should we doubt -that God watches over His people, and helps the ignorant, well-intentioned -Christian man unconsciously to refuse the evil and choose the good? - -If we look at the general character of the centuries we have been -studying, there is no denying that there was a great deal which was good -in them. The people in the twelfth century had a great zeal for religion -of an ascetic type, and amidst the violence and oppression of the times -there was a great deal of religious feeling of an exalted character, and -many a saintly life. It was the great age of the Latin hymns. - -[Illustration: Early English architecture. North-west transept of Beverley -Minster.] - -In the thirteenth century, the enthusiasm for the ascetic life had cooled -down, having been to some extent disappointed; the monks were not so -highly thought of, and the more sober type of religion represented by the -bishop and secular clergy came to the front. It was a great century of -intense vitality; the spirit of freedom was moving the middle classes of -the people, and the Church was in hearty sympathy with them. It was the -age of organization of civil institutions. Very few monasteries were -built, but every cathedral was enlarged, and churches were rebuilt; there -was never so active an architectural period. The new religious spirit of -the age showed itself in that rare event, the introduction of a new style -of architecture, bold engineering skill in its construction, with pointed -arches soaring heavenwards, ornamentations of acanthus leaves just -unfolding in the vigour of the spring-time of a new year. - -In the fourteenth century, the history of the Lollard movement is enough -to show the strong religious feeling of the people and its tendency -towards sounder views of religion. The saying that, "Where you saw three -people talking together, two of them were Lollards," was said by a -Lollard, and may be an exaggeration; but there is no question that (while -some went to extremes, as always in an age of great intellectual movement -and strong feeling) the mass of the people was leavened by what there -was--and there was much--that was true in the new ideas.[635] - -It has been suggested by ingenious critics that Chaucer, being connected -by marriage and sympathy with the leader of the party which favoured the -opinion of the school of Wiclif, his famous description of "a poure parson -of a town" is only the ideal of what a parish priest ought to be according -to the view of that school. It may be maintained, on the other hand, that -Chaucer's sketches of the clergy of all orders are conceived in a spirit -of genial satire; and that if the parish priests had been generally -worldly-minded and negligent of their duties, unclerical in attire and -weapons, attendants on field-sports and haunters of taverns, the great -artist would have put a man of that type among his inimitable gallery of -contemporary character sketches. We have no fear of being mistaken when we -take it that his "poure parson of a town" (which does not necessarily mean -a town but quite possibly a village rector[636]) had many prototypes among -the parochial clergy of the fourteenth century. - - A good man there was of religioun, - That was a poure parson of a toun; - But riche was of holy thought and werk. - He was also a lerned man, a clerk, - That Christe's Gospel treweley would preche. - His parishens devoutly wolde he teche. - Benigne he was, and wonder diligent, - And in adversity ful patient; - And such he was y proved often sithes, - Ful loth were he to cursen for his tithes, - But rather would he given, out of doubte, - Unto his poure parishens about, - Of his offering, and eke of his substance. - He could in litel thing have suffisance. - Wide was his parish, and houses fer asunder, - But he ne left nought, for no rain ne thunder, - In siknesse and in mischief to visite - The farthest in his parish much and lite, - Upon his fete, and in his hand a staff. - This noble example to his sheep he gaf, - That first he wrought and afterward he taught - Out of the gospel he the wordes caught, - And this figure he added yet thereto, - That if gold ruste what should iron do, - For if a priest be foul on whom we trust, - No wonder is a leude man to rust; - And shame it is if that a priest take kepe, - To see a filthy shepherd and clene shepe. - Well ought a priest example for to give - By his clenenesse how his shepe shulde live. - He sette not his benefice to hire, - And left his shepe accumbered in the mire, - And ran unto London unto Saint Poule's - To seeken him a chanterie for souls, - Or with a brotherhede to be withold, - But dwelt at home and kepte well his fold, - So that the wolfe made him not miscarry. - He was a shepherd and no mercenarie, - And though he holy were and virtuous, - He was to sinful men not despitous, - Ne of his speche dangerous ne digne,[637] - But in his teaching discrete and benigne. - To drawen folk to heaven with fairenesse - By good ensample was his businesse. - But if it were any persone obstinat, - What so he were of highe or low estate, - Him wolde he snibben[638] sharply for the nones. - A better priest I trow nowhere non is. - He waited after no pomp ne reverence, - Ne maked him no spiced[639] conscience, - But Christes love and His apostles twelve, - He taught, but first he followed it himselve. - -[Illustration: King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 15th century.] - -The fifteenth century is generally believed to have been especially -religiously dead. There are two ways of looking at it; we may talk, not -without some reason, of the stagnation of the fag end of mediaevalism, of -the wealth and worldliness and neglect of the prelates, of the -superstition of the people, and so forth; but one fact, which still exists -all over the country, is enough by itself to work instant conviction that -there is another side to the question--the church building of the century. -Our forefathers in the fifteenth century had enough of life and -originality to develop here in England a new variety of Gothic art -distinctly different from the development of the art on the Continent of -Europe; a reaction against the luxuriant beauty of the Decorated; with a -masculine strength in its lines, and a practical modification of plan and -elevation so as to obtain spacious, lofty interiors. Take its grand towers -as a measure of its artistic power; call to mind the use of painted -windows as the great means of coloured decoration; study the elaboration -and richness of the roofs and chancel screens of Norfolk and Devon. -Calculate the immense quantity of church architecture and art executed in -the fifteenth century, not only in monasteries and cathedrals, but in -parish churches; think of the magnificent parish churches of Norfolk, -Suffolk, Lincolnshire, and Somerset, and of the rising towns in Yorkshire -and Lancashire. Remember that they were not commissioned and paid for by -the parochial clergy, for we have shown that they had nothing to spare; -not by the nobility, for they were half ruined by the Wars of the Roses; -but by the large minds of the rising middle class, and out of the wealth -which trade and commerce brought them. - -[Illustration: Magdalen College, Oxford, 15th century.] - -[Illustration: St. Michael's, Coventry, 15th century.] - -This one piece of evidence is enough to prove the existence of vigorous -religious faith among the people. At the same time, kings and prelates -were founding colleges and schools, _e.g._ Winchester and Eton, New and -King's. Country gentlemen were founding chantries and supplying themselves -with domestic chaplains, and the traders of the towns were founding gilds -and services in order to obtain for themselves and those belonging to them -additional means of grace and closer pastoral care. It is not possible to -believe in the face of such facts that there was not a great deal of very -earnest religion in the fifteenth century. Abuses and false doctrines and -superstitions there were in abundance, but the religious spirit of the -fifteenth century was already striving earnestly for reform, and -accumulating that force of public opinion which broke out in the -Reformation of the sixteenth century, and compelled Rome itself, after -frustrating the Councils of Constance and Basle, to make the reforms of -the Council of Trent. - -Contrast this with the three centuries which followed; with the cessation -of all building of new churches and the neglect of the old ones, and the -shameful condition of the services in many of them; with the absence of -the extension of Church machinery to meet the needs of the increasing -population; and it will be hard to believe that there was not much more of -religious earnestness in the fifteenth century than in those which -followed it. The _Italian relation of England_[640] says of the people of -the later part of this century: "They all attend mass every day, and say -many paternosters in public, the women carrying long rosaries in their -hands, and any who can read taking the office of Our Lady with them, and, -with some companion, reciting it in the church verse by verse in a low -voice, after the manner of the religious. They always hear mass on Sunday -in their parish church, and give liberal alms because they may not offer -less than a piece of money whereof fourteen are equal to a gold ducat, nor -do they omit any form incumbent upon good Christians." - - - - -APPENDIX I. - - -The history of the parish of Whalley in Lancashire affords an interesting -illustration of the growth of parochial organization. The original parish -was a vast tract of wild hilly country, fifty miles long, covering two -hundred superficial miles, in the north-west corner of Lancashire, chiefly -forest and moor, with fertile pastures in the broad valleys of the Ribble, -the Hodder, the Calder, and their tributaries. The Saxon rectors were also -lords of the manor; they were married men, and the rectory, together with -the manor, descended from father to son. These facts suggest that the lord -of the manor, in early days after the Conversion, turned his house into a -semi-secular monastery such as those we have described (p. 35), retaining -the headship of it for himself, and handing it down to his heirs; and that -in course of time, instead of developing into a monastery of a stricter -kind, it changed into the parochial type of rectory. From the earliest -known time, and throughout the Saxon period, however, the reverend lords -of the manor rejoiced in the title of dean, the Bishop of Worcester -having committed to them large ecclesiastical jurisdiction over this -remote and inaccessible corner of his diocese. - -After the Conquest, the lordship of this part of the country, including -the Manor of Whalley, was given to Henry de Lacy, who laid claim to the -advowson of the benefice of Whalley; but for a time the difficulty was got -over by De Lacy presenting the hereditary claimant, De Lacy thus -establishing a precedent of right of presentation, the hereditary claimant -treating it as nothing more than a certificate that he was the rightful -heir. - -The names of the deans for several generations are given in a "Description -of Blackburnshire," which was probably written by J. Lindlay, Abbot of -Whalley (A.D. 1342-1377); they are Spartlingus, Lewlphus, Cutwulph, -Cudwolphus, Henry the Elder, Robert, Henry the Younger, William, Geoffry -the Elder, Geoffry the Younger, and Roger. - -The decree of the Lateran Council in 1215 prohibited these hereditary -successions to benefices, and Roger, the last dean, resigned the benefice -and surrendered the advowson to the De Lacys, and "settled at the Ville of -Tunlay as the progenitor of a flourishing family yet subsisting after a -lapse of six centuries, legitimate descendants of the Deans of Whalley and -Lords of Blackburnshire."[641] Thereupon De Lacy presented Peter de -Cestria to the rectory,[642] and during his incumbency (in 1284) -appropriated the rectory to the Monastery of Stanlaw. - -Before this date--how long before is not known--there were already in the -parish seven chapels of old foundation. Three of them--Clitherhow, Calne, -and Burnley--are named in a charter of the time of Henry I.; a -fourth--Elvethan--is named in a charter of the time of Richard I.; the -rest are not named till the grant of the advowson of H. de Lacy in 1284. -The probability is that the first three or four had, from time to time, -been founded by the old Saxon deans, in the villages which sprang up in -their extensive manor; the remainder, perhaps, at a later period between -the Conquest and the last quarter of the thirteenth century. They were all -endowed with glebe land of about thirty-five acres each. - -At the next vacancy, the convent of Stanlaw entered upon its enjoyment of -the Rectory of Whalley. How they served it is not known. In old times -there is evidence that the dean had at least a chaplain and clerk to aid -him in his duties. Probably the convent retained the staff of assistant -clergy, whatever it might be, and added another in place of the rector. - -In 1296 the abbot and convent of Stanlaw, with the leave of their founder, -H. de Lacy, and with the sanction of Pope Nicholas IV., removed their -house to the more healthy site afforded by their new estate at Whalley. -Two years after, in 1298, Walter Langton, Bishop of Lichfield, ordained -the foundation of a perpetual vicarage with a manse, thirty acres of -meadow and corn land, with rights of pasturage, etc., and the altarage of -the mother church and its seven chapels. - -Thirty-two years afterwards, on the petition of the abbot and convent, who -represented the necessities of the house (it was in that year that the -foundation of the abbey church was laid) and the immoderate endowment of -the vicarage, Roger, Bishop of Lichfield, reduced the endowment of the -vicarage to a manse and yard within the abbey close, with a pittance, for -which he was to pay 13_s._ 4_d._ a year, hay and oats for his horse, the -glebe lands of the chapels, and fifty-six marks in money, for which he was -to bear the burden of the chapels, find a priest for each chapel, bread -and wine for the Holy Communion, etc. The fourth vicar, William de Wolf, -was required, before his presentation, to bind himself by oath never to -procure an augmentation of the endowment. - -So things continued till the death of the fifth vicar, John of Topcliffe, -brother of the abbot, when the abbot and convent presented one of -themselves to the vicarage, and so added its endowment to the revenues of -the house. - -The next matter of interest in the history of the parish is the beginning -of new foundations to supply the spiritual needs of new centres of -population. Padiham was founded in 30 Henry VI.; Whitewell, Holme, and -Marsden between the reigns of Henry VI. and Henry VII.; then Newchurch in -Rossendale, 3 Henry VIII.; Goodshaw, 32 Henry VIII.; Newchurch in Pendle, -35 Henry VIII.; Accrington was taken out of Alvetham in 1577; and lastly, -Bacup in Rossendale was founded in 1788. - -To complete the story: at the dissolution of the monasteries the Abbot of -Whalley was hanged on a charge of treason. The king made a compulsory -exchange of the great tithes of the parish of Whalley, on which he seized -as part of the abbey property, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, for some -of the lands which belonged to the Kentish see. Archbishop Juxon augmented -the living by surrendering to it, on the renewal of a lease which brought -it within his power, the whole Easter roll and surplice fees, on -condition that the curates of the chapels should receive the house, and -pay to the vicar in different proportions L42, which, with L38 hitherto -paid, would augment the vicarage to L80. Archbishop Sancroft, on a -subsequent renewal (1685), with the fine purchased lands to provide -stipends for the curates of the chapels-of-ease hitherto unprovided for. - -The record of an inquisition in the time of the Commonwealth into this and -neighbouring churches survives, and gives an interesting account of the -parish and its chapelries. In every case the account ends with the -statement that the inhabitants desire to be made a parish. - - - - -APPENDIX II. - - -We have in the case of two Rural Deaneries, by way of sample, tabulated -the benefices as entered in the "Taxatio" and the "Valor" with one another -and with the modern Clergy List; with a few notes upon them. - -DIOCESE OF LONDON.--DEANERY OF BERDESTAPLE. - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - From Domesday Book. | "Taxatio" of Pope Nicholas | - | IV., 1292 A.D., p. 21. | - -------------------------------------|--------------------------------| - | L s. d.| - The Manor and Church belonged to the |Ecclia de Thurrok pva 5 6 8| - See of London. | | - | | - | | - | | - Ditto | " Oresith | - | (cum Vicar) 16 0 0| - Cedd the Apostle of the East Saxons | " Westilleby 13 16 4| - founded one of his centres of | | - evangelization here, A.D. 653. In | | - the time of Edward the Confessor it| " Estilleby 14 13 4| - was divided into West T. held by | | - Aluric, a priest and freeman, and | | - East T. held by Tedric, a freeman. | | - | | - | | - In Saxon times these were one parish.| " Hornyngdone 12 0 0| - Time of the Confessor "a certain | Vicar ejusdem 4 13 4| - deacon had here 30 acres and 1/4 of| | - a church." | | - This church belonged to Barking | | - nunnery. | | - From Saxon times belonged to Barking | " Mockyng 14 13 4| - nunnery. | | - Probably had a church in Saxon times.| " Stanford 16 0 0| - Afterwards Wm. de Septem Moles gave| | - his manor with a free chapel to | | - Waltham Abbey. | | - In Saxon times the manor and church | " Bulephen 13 6 8| - belonged to Barking N. | | - After the Conquest this parish | " Coringham[644] 8 0 0| - belonged to B. of London. | | - | " Bures 6 13 4| - | " Bourgsted[645] 13 6 8| - | | - The manor and church in the time of | " Burgsted | - the Confessor belonged to Earl | parva[646] 4 13 4| - Godwin, after the Conquest to the | | - See of London. | | - Manor and church given at the | " Leyndon 13 6 8| - Conquest to the See of London. | | - | | - | | - | | - | " Fobbing 10 0 0| - | " Chaldewell 5 6 8| - Originally one parish: by the time | " Magna | - of Ed. Confessor a large manor in | Benafleth 6 13 4| - S. Benfleet with church belonged to| " Benefleth | - Barking Abbey; a large manor in N. | parva[648] 0 0 0| - Benfleet with church belonged to | | - Earl Harold. | | - Time of E. Confessor principal part | " Dontone 5 6 8| - belonged to a priest. Wm. gave it | | - to the Albini family, founders of | | - Bec Abbey. They gave this manor to | | - Okeburn, Wilts., a cell of Bec. | | - After the Conquest, King Wm. gave | " Hoton 9 16 8| - this manor and church to Battle | " Schenefeud 10 0 0| - Abbey. | | - At the Conquest, known as Ramsden, | " Duddyngeherst 8 0 0| - subsequently divided into 2 manors | " Gingg Rad'i 6 13 4| - and parishes, distinguished by | | - names of their owners. | " Ramesden Cray 5 6 8| - | " Ramsden | - | Belhous 6 13 4| - | " Dounham 5 6 8| - | " Fangge (or | - | Fanga) 6 13 4| - | " Novendon[650] 0 0 0| - | " Thunderle[650] 0 0 0| - | " Wykfore[650] 0 0 0| - | " Piches[650] 0 0 0| - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - | "Valor Ecclesiasticus" of Hen. | Clergy List, 1895 A.D. - | VIII., 1534 A.D., I 448. | - |------------------------------------|--------------------------------- - | L s. d.| L - |Thurrock Parva R 3 15 0|Thurrock East (or Little) 400 - | | - |Thurrock Grays V per |Thurrock West, with Purfleet 170 - | ear{m} Epi Lond. dal' | - | 6 Apr., 1582 5 0 8|Grays Thurrock 175 - |Orsett R 29 4 8|Orsett 500 - | Chantry 6 13 4| - |Westilbury R 20 0 0|Tilbury West 480 - | Free chapel of a hermit 1 6 8| - | Chantry 10 0 0| - |Estilbury V 12 17 0|Tilbury East 160 - | Free Chapel which W. | - | Pace lately held 3 0 0| - | Another Free Chapel | - | which W{m} More | - | lately held 1 11 0| - |Esthornden R 9 14 0|Horndon East 435 - | Free chapel 0 5 0| - |Westhorndon R 14 13 4|Horndon West, with - | | Ingrave[643] 380 - |Horndon super Montem V 14 6 8|Horndon-on-the-Hill 250 - | | - |Mocking V 10 0 0|Mucking 172 - | | - |Standeford le hope R 12 19 8|Stanford-le-Hope 600 - | Free Chapel 2 0 0| - | Chantry 7 18 0| - | | - |Bulfanne R 23 0 0|Bulphan 345 - | | - |Corringham R 22 3 8|Corringham 560 - | | - |Boures Gifford R 25 0 0|Bowers Gifford 406 - |Burstede magna V 17 6 8|Burstead, Great 100 - | Chantry 7 0 0|Billericay 320 - |Burstede Parva R 11 10 4|Little Burstead 270 - | | - | | - | | - |Laindon R with chapel of |Laindon with Basildon 500 - | Bartilsdon annexed 35 6 8| - | Free Chapel 3 6 8| - | Chantry 6 0 4| - |Langdon R[647] 10 3 8|Laindon Hills 224 - |Fobbing R 21 0 0|Fobbing 534 - |Chadwell R 17 13 4|Chadwell 220 - |South Benflete V 16 5 4|South Benfleet 180 - | | - | |North Benfleet 430 - | | - | | - | | - |Donton R 14 12 8|Dunton Waylett 320 - | | - | | - | | - | | - |Hutton R 8 0 0|Hutton 230 - |Shenfield R 14 18 4|Shenfield 390 - | | - |Duddinghurst R 10 3 8|Doddinghurst 420 - |Ingraffe R 7 13 5| - | | - |Ramsden Cranes R 19 12 0|Ramsden Crays 380 - |Ramsden Belhous R 14 0 0|Stock-Harward with - | Free chapel[649] 3 0 0| Ramsden Belhous 400 - |Downeham R 12 2 8| Downham 340 - |Fange R 14 0 4| Vange 141 - | | - |Novingdon R 10 13 4| Nevendon 150 - |Thundersley R 14 13 4| Thundersley 400 - |Wykeford R 13 13 4| Wickford 310 - |Pittesey R 10 13 4| Pitsea 300 - - -DIOCESE OF CANTERBURY. DEANERY OF BRIGG. - - ----------------------------------------------------------- - "Taxatio" of Pope Nicholas IV., | - 1292 A.D.[651] | - ----------------------------------------------------------| - L s. d.| - Ecclesia de Wyngham p. portione Prepositi et 40 0 0| - Vicarii | - Portio Capellae de Esse [Ash] cum Capella [of 60 0 0| - Overland] eidem annexa | - | - Portio de Godewynstone 46 13 4| - Portio Capellae de Nonynton cum Capella de 53 6 8| - Wymelingwelde eidem annexa | - | - [NOTE.--Wingham was a tract of country part of | - the possessions of the See of Canterbury from | - the earliest Saxon times. No doubt the | - churches and chapels here mentioned had been | - built by successive archbishops. Archbishop | - Kilwardby, 1273 A.D., designed to found a | - College of secular priests in the Church of | - Wingham, but, being interrupted by death, his | - successor Peckham carried out the design. He | - made the Vicar also the Provost; made the | - chapelries (except Overland) distinct | - parishes, appointed Vicarages in them, and | - gave the parishes as prebends to the 5 | - Canons, and appointed 2 priests, 2 deacons, | - 2 sub-deacons, and a sexton to the service of | - the church. At subsequent periods 2 chantries | - were founded in Ash Church, one valued in the | - "Valor" at L14 13_s._ 4_d._, out of which a | - life pension of L5 was paid to the late | - cantarist, and the other at L7 6_s._ 8_d._] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - Ecclia de Sturmine cum penc'(40_s._ to the 12 13 4| - Prior of Leeds) | - Ecclia de Preston (appr' to St. Augustine, Cant.) 20 0 0| - Vicar ejusdem 4 15 4| - Ecclia de Eylinston 10 0 0| - Ecclia de Adesham cum capella 53 6 8| - | - Ecclia de Chilindene 5 6 8| - Ecclia de Lyvingesburn[655] 10 0 0| - Ecclia de Wytham 33 6 8| - Vicarius ejusdem 5 6 8| - Ecclia de Littleburne (appr' to St. Aug., 20 0 0| - Cant.) | - | - Ecclia de Pat'kes burne (appr' to the Prior of 33 6 8| - Merton) | - | - Ecclia de Kinggeston 12 0 0| - Ecclia de Bisshopes burne cum capella 33 6 8| - | - | - Ecclia de Pecham 20 0 0| - Vicarius ejusdem 4 6 8| - Ecclia de Waltham 11 6 8| - | - Ecclia de Elmestede cum penc' (20 marks 16 0 0| - to Mr. Solomon de Burn for his life) | - Ecclia de Chertham 26 13 4| - | - Ecclia de Chileham 40 0 0| - | - Vicarius ejusdem 6 13 4| - | - Ecclia de Magna Hardres cum capella 26 13 4| - | - | - | - Ecclia de Croyndale cum penc' (25_s._ to 11 16 8| - Prior of Leeds) | - Ecclia de Brok 6 13 4| - Ecclia de Wy (appr' to Battle Abbey) 43 6 8| - | - Vicarius ejusdem 10 13 4| - | - [NOTE.--I, Kempe Archbp. of York, founded the | - | - College of secular priests in the Church of | - Wye, 1447 A.D.][656] | - | - | - | - | - Ecclia de Bocton Allulphi 40 0 0| - | - | - Ecclia de Godmsham cum capella 53 6 8| - | - | - | - Ecclia de Itham 30 0 0| - | - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - "Valor Ecclesiasticus," | Clergy List, - of Hen. VIII., 1534 A.D.[652] | 1895 A.D. - ---------------------------------------------------|-------------------- - L s. d.| L - Wyngham cum Capellis de Asshe, Godwynston |Wingham 162 - Nonyngton et Wymyngweld appr' Preposito |Ash (Chapel of 260 - et Canonicis de Wyngham | Overland - | ruined) - |Godenstone 200 - Master Edmund de Cranmere[653] p'vost hath |Nonington 280 - in the Church of Wyngham 45 6 8 |Womenswold 160 - Profits of the Chapel of Overland 20 0 0 | - -------- | - Deduct for parish priest he is | - bound to keep there 9 0 0 | - And for the sexton of Wyngham 3 0 0 | - And for life pension to the late | - provost, Mr. Wm. Warham[654] 22 0 0 31 6 3| - -------- | - The 5 canons gross receipts | - from the tithes of Ashe | - with the chapels of | - Rusheborough, Nunnington, | - Goodneston, and | - Wymengewelde 143 7 7-1/2 | - | - The deductions including | - salaries of 5 priests to | - serve the 5 chapels at | - about L6 each, and for | - two priests doing service | - in Wyngham Church L6 11_s._ | - 8_d._ each, for 2 quiristers | - each 13_s._ 4_d._, for | - sexton's daily service in | - church L4 6_s._ 8_d._, and | - for divers obits L51 5_s._ | - 4_d._ 59 0 12-1/2 84 5 11| - ----------- | - Stormouth 18 19 10|Stourmouth 300 - | - Preston appr' to St. Augustine, Cant. 0 0 0|Preston 000 - The Vicar has 9 15 0|Vicarage 150 - (Not mentioned in "Valor," or by Hasted.) | - Asham with chapel of Staple annexed 28 12 0|Adisham 450 - The priest at Staple has 6 13 4|Staple 450 - Chelynden 4 18 8|Chillenden 120 - Bekesborne[655] 5 13 8|Bekesborne 150 - Wikham breux 29 11 6|Wickhambreux 603 - | - Lytelbourne (appr' to St. Augustine, |Littlebourn 250 - Cant.) | - The Vicar has 8 0 0| - Patryksborne with the chapel of Brigge 11 7 4|Patrixbourn 350 - (appr' to Merton) | - The priest of the chapel has 2 13 4| - Kyngston 16 0 0|Kingston 350 - Bysshoppysborne with Church of Barham 35 19 9|Bishopsburne 500 - annexed | - Stipend to the priest of Barham 8 0 0|Barham 650 - Petham (appr' to St. Osyth Priory) 0 0 0}| - The Vicar has 8 0 1}|Waltham with 575 - Waltham (appr' to St. Gregory, Cant.) 0 0 0}| Petham - The Vicar has 7 15 4}| - Elmeston 6 7 7|Elmstone 180 - | - Chartham with the chapel of Horton 41 5 10|Chartham 550 - Salary of priest at Horton 1 6 8| - Chelham with the chapel of Molayshe 0 0 0|Chilham 700 - (appr' to Abbess of Sion) | - Vicar has 5 3 4|Molash 90 - Salary of priest at chapel 6 13 4| - Grete Hardres with Chapel of Stelling 19 13 0|Upper Hardres 400 - annexed | with - Deduction for life pension to late 0 0 0| Stelling - parson (L6 13_s._ 4_d._) | - Crundale with pension to Prior of Leeds, 11 10 8|Crundale 320 - 35_s._ | - Broke 7 7 0| - Church of Wye (appr' to the monks of 0 0 0| - Battle) | - College of Wye Richard Walker Vicar and 0 0 0| - Master of the College | - Total receipts of the College, L125 93 2 0-1/2|Wye Vicarage 270 - 15_s._ 4-1/2_d._ | - Deductions. Among them for 3 priests, | - clerks, quiristers, scole master and | - other ministers, L68; to the Provost, | - L13 6_s._ 8_d._; to poor people, L3 | - 6_s._ 8_d._; founder's obit, L3 3_s._ | - 4_d._; etc., L32 13_s._ 4_d._ | - Bocton Aluph (appr' to College of Wye) 0 0 0| - The Vicar has 5 16 10| - Godmersham cum capella de Chullok (appr' 0 0 0|Godmersham 160 - to Xt. Ch., Cant.) | - Vicar, L16 0_s._ 12_d._; deduct for 9 7 8|Challock 250 - priest to serve chapel, L6 13_s._ 4_d._ - Ikham 25 11 8|Ickham 803 - Stodmarsshe (appr' to hospital for poor 0 0 0|Stodmarsh 135 - priests, Cant.) | - - - - -APPENDIX III. - - -The illustrations which we have been able to give of our subject from the -pictures in Mediaeval MSS. are only a handful selected out of a very great -number. It may be useful to some students to have references to the MSS. -in the British Museum, where other illustrations of special interest may -be found. - -The most useful for illustrations of ecclesiastical rites, and -incidentally for the vestments of all orders of the clergy, and for -_instrumenta_, are the Pontificals; _e.g._-- - -The Pontifical of Landulph of Milan, 9th century, engraved in -D'Agincourt's _L'Art par ses monuments_; Painting, Plates XXXVII. and -XXXVIII. - -Tiberius B. VIII. contains two MSS. One English, of the end of the 12th or -beginning of the 13th century. - -The other French, date, A.D. 1365. - -Egerton 931. French, of the Diocese of Sens, date, 1346-1378. - -Lansdown 451. English of Diocese of Exeter, 14th century. - -Egerton 1067. French, 15th century. - -Add. MS. 14805. German, 15th century. - -Add. 19898. French, late 15th century. - -An early printed Pontifical, 471, f. 2, with engravings, Venice, A.D. -1520. There are other editions printed in other countries, but with the -same engravings. - -BAPTISM.--_By affusion._--16 G. VI. f. 128, 14th century. Egerton 745, f. -1, early 14th century. Egerton 2019, f. 135, late 15th century. - -_With aspersion._--10 E. VI. f. 230_b_, early 14th century. (Adult in -temporary font, bishop sprinkling with aspersoir.) - -_By immersion._--10 E. IV. f. 125, early 14th century. 16 G. VI. f. 128, -14th century. 6 E. VI. f. 171, and f. 318_b_, 14th century. Harl. 2278, f. -76, 15th century. Add. 29704, f. 18, close of 14th century. Nero A. IV. f. -81_b_, 14th century. Lansdown 451, f. 225_b_, 15th century. 20 C. VII. -190_b_, 14th century. 16 G. VI. f. 14. - -CONFIRMATION.--6 E. VI. f. 372, 14th century. Egerton 1067, f. 12, late -15th century. Printed Pontifical 471, f. 2, page 2, A.D. 1520. - -MARRIAGE.--Nero E. II. f. 115 and f. 217, 14th century. Harl. 2278, f. -462. 6 E. VI. 257, and f. 375 and f. 414_b_, 14th century. 10 E. VI. f. -229_b_ and f. 313, 14th century. 14 E. IV. f. 30 and f. 275, 15th century. -Harl. 4379, f. 6, 14th century. 16 G. VI. f. xx., 14th century. 20 C. VII. -f. 10, 14th century. Nero E. II. f. 115, 14th century. Printed Sarum -Primer, A.D. 1531, Paris. G. 12136, in Kalendar, June. - -PREACHING.--Egerton 745, f. 46, 14th century. Add. 29433, f. 16, early -15th century. Add. 17280, f. 55, late 15th century. 6 E. VII. f. 75_b_, -14th century. 14 E. III. f. 9_b_, early 14th century. - -CONFESSION.--6 E. VII. f. 500, 14th century. Add. 25698, f. 9, Flemish, c. -A.D. 1492. Arundel 83, f. 12, 14th century. Egerton 2019, f. 135, c. A.D. -1450. 6 E. VI. f. 357, and f. 369_b_, and f. 414_b_, 14th century. Add. -18851, f. 69_b_, end of 15th century. 6 E. VII. f. 506_b_, 14th century. - - Printed Pontifical 471, f. 2, p. 177, and p. 203_b_, A.D. 1523. _To a - Friar_, Royal, 16 G. VI. f. 159, etc. Egerton 2019, f. 135, 15th - century. _Of Clergy_, Royal, 6 E. VII. - -PENANCE.--16 G. VI. f. 421, 14th century. Arundel 83, f. 12, 14th century. -6 E. VII. f. 443, 14th century. - - Printed Pontifical 471, f. 2, p. 155, A.D. 1520. - -CELEBRATION OF MASS.--10 E. IV. f. 211, _with housel cloth_, 14th century; -and 2 B. VII. f. 260_b_, late 13th century. 16 G. VI. f. 130 and f. 139, -14th century. Nero E. II. f. 129_b_, 14th century. Egerton 2125, f. 143, -late 15th century. Royal 14 E. III. f. 17, early 14th century. Royal 6 E. -VI. f. 24_b_. - - Add. 25698, f. 2, c. A.D. 1492. Add. 29704, f. 7 (_elevation_), and - 16997, f. 144, 15th century. Plut. 279, f. 12, 15th century. Add. - 16997, f. 145, French, 15th century. Add. 15813, f. 155, Italian, A.D. - 1525. Egerton 931, f. 78_b_ (1346-78). - - _With only one candle on altar_, Nero E. II. f. 202, etc., 14th - century. - -PROCESSIONS.--16 G. VI. f. 30, f. 350, and f. 351. Nero E. II. f. 36, f. -73, 14th century. 10 E. IV. f. 231_b_, 14th century. P. La Croix, La Vie -Militaire, etc., plate 257. - -VISITATION OF THE SICK.--6 E. VI. f. 427_b_, 14th century. 6 E. VII. f. -70, 14th century. Add. 25698, f. 5, Flemish, c. A.D. 1492. Egerton 2019, -f. 142, late 15th century. 20 C. VII. f. 78_b_, 14th century. Lansdown -451, f. 234, early 15th century. Printed Sarum Primer, A.D. 1531, in -Kalendar, December, and at f. 102_b_. - -FUNERAL CEREMONIES.--_Enshrouding the corpse._--Egerton, 2019, f. 142, -15th century. _In church._--16 G. VI. f. 412, A.D. 1270. 2 B. VII. f. 222, -f. 300, and f. 315, c. A.D. 1260. Sloane 346, f. 22_b_, 14th century. Add. -16997, f. 119_b_, and f. 171_b_, 15th century. 16 G. VI. f. 315, 14th -century. Nero E. III. f. 131, 15th century. Nero E. II. f. 200_b_, 14th -century. _At the church door._--Add. 10294, f. 72 and f. 89, 14th century. -_Being carried into church._--Add. 12228, f. 8, early 14th century. -_Funeral procession._--20 C. VII. f. 40_b_ and f. 200, 14th century. -Egerton 1070, f. 54_b_, c. A.D. 1480. Add. 15813, f. 263, A.D. 1525. 6 E. -VI. f. 481, 14th century. Add. 10294, f. 86 and f. 88, early 14th century. -_Commendatio defunctorum._--Egerton 2125, f. 117_b_, late 14th century. -Egerton 1070, f. 54_b_, A.D. 1480. 14 E. IV. f. 208_b_. 20 C. VII. f. 10, -14th century. Printed Sarum Psalter, A.D. 1531, f. 98. See also Norwich -Vol. of the Archaeological Institute, p. 105. _Burial._--Claudius B. IV. f. -11, f. 18, f. 44, f. 72, f. 74, and f. 85, 11th century. Egerton 2125, f. -18, early 16th century. Egerton 2019, f. 135, c. A.D. 1450. _Aspersing -coffin._--16 G. VI. f. 315, 14th century; and Harl. 2278, f. 22_b_, 15th -century. _Tomb of a king._--20 C. VII. f. 40_b_, 14th century. Nero E. II. -f. 72_b_, 14th century. _Tomb with lamp over it._--Egerton Plut. 745, f. -62_b_, 14th century. _Sword and horn over tomb._--16 G. VI. f. 180_b_, -14th century. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Absenteeism, 146, 326, 330 - - Acca's Cross, base of, 27 - - Addi the Ealdorman, consecration of his church at North Burton, 48 - - AElfric, homilies, 223 - - Aged clergy, provision for, 290-296 - - Aidan, apostle of Northumbria, 20; - his schools, 21; - preaching, 21, 22, 46 - - Alb, 191 - - Alcuin, 36 - - Aldhelm, 31, 49 - - Aldhelm's religious poetry, 241 - - Ale, church, and other ales, 317 - - Alfred, laws of, 65, 76, 80, 82 - - Alfriston parsonage house, 152, 153 - - Amice, 192 - - Amyss, 195 - - Anglo-Saxon conquest, manner of, 3, 5 - - Anglo-Saxon monasteries, in France, 21; - in Kent, 29; - Northumbria, 29; - East Anglia, 31; - Wessex, 31; - Mercia, 31-33; - list of others, 33; - life of the, 35; - destruction of, by Danes, 37; - restoration of, by Edgar and Dunstan, 37 - - Anglo-Saxons, their civil organization, 5; - religion, 7; - temples, 9-11; - priesthood, 11; - sacred places, 12 - - Archdeacons, 173, 533; - of Lincoln, 353, 354; - of Chichester, 362 - - Armour worn by clergy, 172, 175, 177 - - Assistant curates, 50, 105, 106 - - Athelstan, law of, encouraging landowners to build churches on their - estates, 51; - laws of, 66 - - Augustine, apostle of Kent, 15 - - Augustine, St., monastery of, 29, 35 - - - Banns of marriage, 235 - - Baptism, within thirty days under penalty, 58, 68, 234 - - Bede, his description of mission work, 23; - letter to Archbishop Egbert, 49 - - Bede Roll, 211, 311, 472, 496 - - Bedesmen, 449 - - Bell to be rung for service, 70, 447; - in carrying viaticum to the sick, 239; - sacring bell, 246 - - Benedict Biscop, 30, 36 - - Benefices, parochial, subdivision of, 56 - - Berdstaple Deanery, from "Taxatio," 382; - comparison of its parishes in the "Taxatio," "Valor," and Clergy List, - 562 - - Berneston, 118 - - Beverley Minster, 548 - - Bidding Prayer, 207, 208 - - Birinus, apostle of Wessex, 21 - - Boniface (Winfrid), 22, 60 - - Bradfield-on-Avon, church at, 31, 32 - - Bridge chapels, 527 - - Brigg Rural Deanery, comparison of its parishes in the "Taxatio," - "Valor," and Clergy List, 564 - - Bristol, 499; - a Saxon burgh, its Saxon churches, 499; - religious houses, 500; - growth of parishes, 500; - inclusion of Temple and Redcliff, 502 - - Britons, survivors of the Anglo-Saxon conquest, 4 - - Burton-on-Trent, monastery and town of, 508 - - Bury St. Edmunds, 510 - - - Caedmon, his poems, 250 - - Canons, 73, 335; - of Lincoln, 350-352; - of Chichester, 360 - - Canterbury, King's School at, 131; - archbishops of, of humble birth, 133 - - Canute, 37; - laws of, 52, 76, 80, 86 - - Career offered by the Church, 129, 134 - - Cathedral close, 340 - - Cathedral, organization of, 334; - of secular canons, 335; - monastic, 336; - idea of, 350; - description of, 357 - - Cealchythe, council at, 41, 78, 82 - - Cedd, apostle of the East Saxons, 30, 36, 39 - - Celibacy of the clergy, 66, 73, 258-273, 282, 283 - - Chadd, Bishop of Mercia, 30, 31, 36 - - Chantries, 212; - of Burghersh, 341, 356, 447; - in Lincoln Cathedral, 354; - in Chichester Cathedral, 362; - definition of, 438; - number and distribution of, 442, 443; - foundation deed of, 444, 469; - of the Black Prince, 446; - Richard III., 447; - Henry VII., 447; - nomination to, 451; - dissolution of, 471 - - Chantry chapels, 453-456; - furniture of, 445; - sometimes chapels-of-ease, 467 - - Chantry priests, of cathedrals incorporated, London, 443; - York, 503; - of towns, sometimes a priest's house provided for them, 518, 525; - remuneration of, 461-464; - duties of, 465, 466; - sometimes schoolmasters, 469-471 - - Chapels, royal, 46, 123; - parochial, 50, 110; - free, 123, 124; - domestic chantry, 421, 422, 457 - - Chaplains, parish, 105, 106, 111; - domestic, 409-423 - - Chapter house, 342; - use of, 357 - - Chasuble, 191, 244 - - Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," extracts from, 172, 271, 304 - - Choristers, of Lincoln Cathedral, 356; - song schools for, 469, 471 - - Churches, Saxon, different status of, 52, 54; - number of, 54; - repair of, 66, 188; - to be reserved to sacred uses, 69; - burial in, 69; - dilapidations, 163; - their architecture, 184; - furniture, 187, 189, 190 - - Churchyard, 69, 205, 281, 316; - right of sanctuary in, 308; - sports, markets, etc., in, 316, 317 - - Clergy, number of, in 1377, 390 - - Clerk, parish. _See_ Parish clerk - - Clitheroe, castle church of, 120 - - Clovesho, councils at, 41, 60, 240 - - Clugny, Abbey of, 368 - - Clun, Shropshire, 112 - - Colchester Castle, domestic chapel, 410 - - Colleges, at universities, 140; - Rotherham, 517; - Wingham, 564, _note_; - Wye, 566, _note_ - - Communion, Holy, doctrine of, 75, 237; - in one kind, 235 - - Confession, 234, 239, 536, 543 - - Confirmation, 238; - sponsors at, 59, 69, 234 - - Confraternity of a religious house, 439 - - Conisborough, 103, 409 - - Conversion of the English, 14, 21-23 - - Conway Castle chapel, 410 - - Cope, 193, 196 - - Costume of clergy, ordinary, 165, 169-171 - - Course of studies, 139 - - Courts, ecclesiastical, 532, 544 - - Coventry St. Michael's Church, 555 - - Cranmer, Edmund, 564, 565 _note_ - - Cranmer on the education of the lower classes, 131 - - Creed, Apostles', exposition of, 217; - metrical version of, 238 - - Cross, station, 24 - - Cuckfield Church, 455 - - Customs on holy days, 311 - - Cuthbert, 23 - - - Daily celebration of Holy Communion, 205, 206 - - Daily Psalter in cathedrals, 351 - - Daily service in churches and chapels, 205, 207 - - Dalmatic, 192 - - Danes destroy monasteries and churches, 37 - - Dean and chapter, 336; - of Lincoln, 345; - of Chichester, 361 - - Delamere, Abbot of St. Albans, 199 - - Denington, Chantry Chapel at, 456 - - Devotional books, 225; - poetry, 255-257 - - Dilapidations, 162 - - Dioceses, Saxon, 20; - subdivision of, 41, 42 - - Discipline, 531; - of clergy, 533-535, 537; - of laity, 535-544; - defiance of, 542, 543 - - Dispensations, for obstacles to ordination, 146, 275; - for non-residence, 146 - - "Dives and Pauper," 249 - - Domesday Survey, mention of churches and clergy in, 54 - - Domestic chapels, 409; - Norman, 409, 418; - Edwardian, 410; - later, 412-437; - chantries in, 421, 457; - oratories, 422; - number of, 423; - licences for, 424, 428; - marriages in, 431; - furniture of, 433; - services in, 435 - - Domestic chaplains, in the sixth century, 408; - Saxon, 409, 417; - Norman, 409, 419-437; - members of religious houses acting as, 418; - emoluments of, 419, 420, 462 - - Dress, ordinary, of the clergy, 164-172, 233 - - Duns Scotus, 139 - - Dunstable Priory, 102, 324 - - Dunstan, 37, 66 - - Durham Cathedral, 87 - - - Ecclesiastical courts, 86, 532 - - "Edgar, Canons of," 66 - - Edmund, laws of, 66 - - Egbert, Archbishop of York, 49; - constitutions of, 111 - - Elfric, canons of, 74 - - Endowments of parish churches, 45, 53 - - England, Church of, 41 - - Establishment of the Church among the English, 20 - - Ethelbert, King of Kent, laws of, 57, 58 - - Ethelred, laws of, 72, 82 - - Eucharist, rules for celebration of, 70; - doctrine of, 75 - - Evensong, 200, 203, 204 - - Exchange of benefice by bishops or priests forbidden, 68 - - Excommunication, general, 238, 544, 545 - - Exeter, chapels and religious houses in, 497; - parochial organization, 497 - - Eyam, cross at, 26 - - - Farming benefices, 321, 324, 326, 331, 403 - - Fasting, 60, 71 - - Felix, apostle of the East Angles, 21 - - Fifteenth century, character of, 553; - architecture of, 553 - - Firstfruits and tenths, 380 - - Folk-mote, 6 - - Foreign incumbents, 320 - - Fourteenth century, character of, 549 - - Free chapels, 124 - - Friars, at the universities, 140; - origin of, 370; - organization, 371; - work, 373; - success, 374; - interference with parochial clergy, 376; - poverty, 378 - - Furniture, of clergy houses, 174-182; - of churches, 187-191 - - - Gilds, definition of, 473; - trade, 475; - religious, 476-481; - social, 482; - at Ludlow, 473, 476; - Bristol, 476; - York, 476; - Norwich, 478; - Worcester, 478; - Birmingham, 478; - suppression of, 483 - - Glebe, size of, 55 - - Godparent, 59, 69, 234 - - Goodrich, Bishop of Ely, his monumental brass, 198 - - Granby, 103 - - Gratian's Decretals, 121 - - Gray, Archbishop Walter de, his "Register," 102, 116, 189 - - Greenstead Church, Essex (Saxon timber church), 52 - - Grostete, Bishop of Lincoln, 167, 281, 327, 336; - his "Castle of Love," 242 - - - Hampole, Richard of, 225 - - Harlow, 100 - - Heathenism, laws against, 58, 59, 68, 72 - - Heptarchic kingdoms, establishment of their churches, 20 - - Hertford, council at, 41 - - Hilda, St., 30 - - Holy days, 80 - - Holy loaf, 235, 403 - - Hood, 239 - - Hospitality of the clergy, 158-160 - - Hours, canonical, 74 - - Hugh of St. Victor, 138; - St., Bishop of Lincoln, 281, 322; - of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln, 280 - - Humble birth, bishops of, 133 - - Hundred, 5 - - - Illuminated MSS., references to, 567 - - Impropriation of benefices, 95-97; - forbidden without consent of bishops, 98 - - Ine, King of the West Saxons, laws of, 57, 58 - - Iona, 15 - - Ipswich, in Domesday, 506; - in the "Taxatio," 506; - convents of Austin Canons and Friars, 507; - hospitals, 507 - - Isolation of Anglo-Saxon townships, 6 - - - John Ball, priest, 171 - - Jutland, introduction of Christianity into, 17 - - - Kellum, 117 - - King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 552 - - Kingston-on-Thames, 115; - free chapel there, 125 - - Kirkby Malamdale, 102 - - - Laindon church and house, 162 - - Lanfranc, 88, 136 - - Lateran, council of, in A.D. 1179, 98 - - Latimer, Hugh, his education, 141 - - Laws, Saxon codes of, 39, 57-83 - - "Lay Folks' Mass-book," 243-249 - - Learning, revival of, 136 - - Lepers, 286, 294, 343 - - Lewinna, South Saxon martyr, 17 - - Lights for altar, 312; - statues, 313, 498; - purification, 314, 425; - funeral, 315; - meaning of, 312, 315. - _See_ Tapers - - Lincoln Cathedral, 338, 340; - organization of its chapter, 343 - - Lindisfarne, 20, 29, 35 - - London Bridge, 529 - - London, parishes of, 492; - subdivision of, 495; - number of, 495; - fees in, 496; - map of, in 1570, 493 - - Longland, John, Bishop of Lincoln, 344 - - Lord's Prayer, metrical version of, 248 - - - Magdalen College, Oxford, 554 - - Manchester, parochial history of, 515 - - Manumission of slaves, 81, 82, 332, 333 - - Market Harborough Church, 186 - - Married clergy, 262 - - Mass, 200, 236, 237, 243-248 - - Matins, 200, 202, 204 - - Mediety, benefices held in, 56 - - "Minster," 37 - - Miracle plays, 315 - - Mission work among the Anglo-Saxons, 21, 24 - - Monasteries, Saxon, 28-37; - revival of, under Edgar and Canute, 37; - Norman, 90-93; - character, 366; - social influence, 367; - parochial influence, 369 - - Money, comparative value of, in 1292, 1534, and 1890, 404 - - Monks, 73, 97, 98, 108, 285 - - Mortuary services, 457-462 - - Morville, 114 - - Myrk John, "Instructions for Parish Priests," 232 - - "Myrroure of our Ladye," 249 - - - Newark, 523 - - Newnham, Gloucestershire, 119 - - Non-residence, 146, 326, 330 - - Norman bishops, abbots, priests, costume of, 83, 91 - - Norman conquest, results of, 84 - - Normans, church building by the, 87, 88 - - Northumberland, Earl of, staff of domestic chapel, 413 - - Norway, anecdotes of its conversion, 17-19; - introduction of Christianity into, 18, 19 - - Norwich, parishes of, 490 - - - Oils for baptism and unction, 72, 75 - - Offering days, 71, 73 - - Offerings as source of income, 400 - - Offertory, 245; - of the domestic chapels, 414, 426 - - Opinions during the Middle Ages, 546 - - Orarium, or stole, 192 - - Ordeal, 66 - - Ordericus Vitalis, 90, 115 - - Orders of the clergy, 74 - - Ordination, 144-146; - refusal of, 327, 328 - - - Pallium, 191 - - Papal supremacy, 85 - - Parish clerk, 67, 283, 298-305 - - Parishes, origin of, 44-46; - extent of, 50, 110; - subdivision of, 51, 53; - number of, in A.D. 1292 and A.D. 1534, 385, 394; - income of, 389, 396, 397-406 - - Parish priest, his ecclesiastical status, 50; - social status, 51, 73; - instructions for, 232-240 - - Parsonage houses, 148-158, at Weston Turville, West Dean, Alfriston, - Kelvedon, Kingston-on-Thames, Bulmer, Ingrave, Ingatestone, - Allington, Little Bromley, North Benfleet, Great Bentley, St. - Peter's Colchester, Radwinter, Laindon; and 161 - - Passion play, 304, 315 - - Patronage, abuse of, by the Crown, 321 - - Paulinus of York, 17, 21 - - Peckham, Archbishop, his manual of teaching, 216 - - Penance, 201; - by proxy, 64; - forbidden, 64; - for sabbath-breaking, 201 - - Penitential system, Saxon, 532 - - Peter Lombard, 137 - - Pickering, 117 - - "Piers Plowman," Vision and Creed, extracts from, 132, 133, 150, 171, - 203, 207, 278 - - Pilgrimage, 308; - places of, 309 - - Pilgrims, 309 - - Pledge breaking, punishment of, 65. - - Pluralities, 323 - - Pocklington, 117 - - Poetry, devotional, 255-257 - - "Poor Parson of a Town," Chaucer's, 550 - - Preaching, 62, 71, 75, 214-223, 285-288; - helps in, 223, 224 - - Prebend, 351; - of Lincoln Cathedral, 353 - - Prebendaries of Lincoln, 351; - of Chichester, 361 - - Presentation of offenders to the bishop, 62, 67 - - Priests, character of, 68, 71, 73, 233; - duties of, 69, 72, 233-240 - - Primer, 249 - - Prince bishops of Durham, 363; - of Winchester, 364; - of Ely, 364 - - Privilege of clergy, 86 - - Procession, or Litany, 212, 311 - - Processions to mother church, 121; - to cathedral, 121, 299 - - Puch the Ealdorman, consecration of his church at South Burton, 46 - - - Recluse, 295, 527 - - Rectors not in holy orders, 325, 327, 328 - - Revenues of the bishops, deans, and chapters, etc., of Lincoln - Cathedral, 344; - of Chichester Cathedral, 360 - - Robert Pullein, 138 - - Roger Bacon, 139 - - Rotherham, parochial history of, 516; - College, 517 - - Roundelay, 118 - - Royal chapels, 46, 123 - - Ruthwell, cross at, 25 - - - Saffron Walden Church, 185 - - Saints, canonization by local synods, 63, 81 - - Saints' Days, 80; - appointed by synods, 63, 81 - - St. Alban's, monastery and town of, 513 - - St. Edmund's Bury, monastery and town of, 510 - - Sanctuary, 75, 306; - right of, in churches, 75, 306; - in churchyards, 308; - in certain persons, 308 - - Saxon clergy, 21, 23, 38, 57-83; - vestments of, 62, 83 - - Saxon codes of law, 39, 57 - - Saxon nobleman, house of, 47 - - Scholastic theology, 137 - - "Sentences" of Peter Lombard, 137 - - Serfs admitted to Orders, 130 - - Sermon helps, 223 - - Sermons, 215 - - Service books and vestments which each church was required to possess, - 67, 189, 195 - - Services in church, 200; - attendance at, on Sundays, 79, 201, 203; - on week-days, 205-207 - - "Services," 479 - - Sham priests, 143, 144 - - Shawbury, 112 - - Shoreham Church, 89 - - Shrine of Edward Confessor, 187 - - Sick, visitation of, 161, 237, 239 - - Sins, eight deadly, 214; - seven deadly, 221, 226, 230 - - Slavery, 72, 81-83, 332 - - Slave-trade, 82, 83 - - Sompting Church, 55 - - Sons of clergy, 262, 273-278 - - Sponsors, at Confirmation, 55, 69, 234; - at Baptism, 234 - - Stigand, Archbishop, 84, 86 - - Stokesay, 119 - - Stratford, John de, Archbishop, injunction on costume of clergy, 164, 188 - - Students, 140-144 - - "Summa Theologica" of Thomas Aquinas, 138 - - Sunday, observance of, 69, 73, 79, 205; - penalty for desecration of, 201, _note_ - - Surnames of ecclesiastics taken from their birthplaces, 135 - - Surplice, 193, 194 - - Synodals, annual sum due from incumbent of a benefice to the bishop, 397; - paid on attending the synod to procure the holy oils. - - Synods, 41, 67, 337 - - - Tapers carried at baptism (Harl. MS. 2278, f. 76); - at marriage, 496; - churching, 496; - penance, 315; - funerals, 496 - - "Taxatio" of Pope Nicholas IV., 381 - - Teaching by priests, 63, 214, 216-223; - by parents, 69 - - Temples, Anglo-Saxon, 9-11; - Norse, 18, 19 - - Ten Commandments, exposition of, 218; - metrical version of, 239 - - Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 40; - holds a synod at Hertford A.D. 673, at which the Heptarchic Churches - unite into the Church of England, 41; - divides the Heptarchic dioceses, 41; - encourages the parochial system, 45 - - Thirteenth century, character of, 548 - - Thomas Aquinas, 138 - - Thoresby, Archbishop of York, his manual of teaching, 222 - - Thornbury, staff of domestic chapel, 413 - - Tithe, 78; - small, 99, 101 - - Titles for Orders, 145 - - Tower of London, domestic chapel, 409 - - Town parishes, origin of, 489 - - Towns, description of, 487; - founded by monasteries, 507; - Burton-on-Trent, 508; - St. Edmund's Bury, 510; - St. Albans, 513 - - Township, Saxon, description of, 4, 5 - - Twelfth century, religious character of, 547 - - Types and antitypes, 231 - - - Unction, Extreme, 237, 239 - - Universities, 136, 140 - - - "Valor" of Henry VIII., 392 - - Vestments, clerical, 62, 98, 165, 191, 194, 195, 198, 199, 244, 299; - origin of, 191; - symbolism of, 196 - - Vicar, 99-107 - - Vicarages, foundation of, 98-108 - - Vicars choral, 341; - of Lincoln, 355; - of Chichester, 362 - - Virtues, the seven chief, 221, 229 - - Visitation of the sick, 162, 237, 239, 282 - - Visitation, the bishop's, 279, 337; - articles, 281, and replies, 285-289; - by the archdeacon, 338 - - - Wakefield bridge and chapel, 528 - - Wapentake, 5 - - Warham, William, 564, 565, _note_ - - Warwick Chantry Chapel, Tewkesbury, 454 - - Weapons carried by clergy, 167, 183 - - West Dean parsonage house, 151 - - Westminster, synod of, A.D. 1102, 98, 113 - - Whalley, 107, 108, 120; - history of the parish of, 557 - - Wiclif's Bible, 242 - - Wihtred, King of Kent, laws of, 57, 59, 77, 81 - - Wilfrid of York, apostle of the South Saxons, 40, 41, 42 - - Wills of clergymen, 171-183 - - Winchester, synod of, A.D. 1070, 86 - - Windsor, domestic chapels, 412 - - Winfrid (Boniface), 22, 60 - - Wingham, college of, 564, _note_ - - Woolrichston, 131 - - Wye, college of, 566, _note_ - - - Yatton, 106 - - Yellow pest, seventh century, 39 - - York, Minster, 503, 504; - St. Mary's Abbey, 503; - hospitals in, 504; - parish churches, 505; - of clergy, 505; - income of parochial benefices in, 506; - Micklegate Bar, 487 - - - Zacharias, Bishop of Rome, 61 - - -THE END. - - -PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] We gather from FitzHerbert "On Surveyinge," chap. xl. (1470 to 1538, -A.D.) that this condition of things continued general to the end of the -sixteenth century. - -[2] Grimm, Stallybras's ed., i. 90. - -[3] Thorpe, "Ancient Laws," etc., 201. - -[4] "Burnt Njal." - -[5] We know very little of the religion of these Teutonic tribes before -their conversion, or of its usages. Mr. Kemble had "no hesitation in -asserting" that their religion was the same as that of the Scandinavians; -he thought that the Mark and system of land occupation which had existed -long before in their native seats was introduced in its entirety into -their new settlements, and that every Mark had its _fanum_, _delubrum_ or -_sacellum_; and, further, that the priests attached to these heathen -churches had lands--perhaps freewill offerings, too--for their support. -Under these circumstances, he argues that nothing could be more natural -than the establishment of a baptismal church in every Mark which adopted -Christianity and the transference of the old endowments to the new -priesthood ("The Saxons in England," ii. 423). - -[6] See a list of them at p. 63. - -[7] 27th of the Council of London, 1102 A.D. - -[8] Coifi asked, _Quis aras et fana idolorum cum septis quibus erant -circumdata primus profanare debet ... pergebat ad idola ... mox -appropinquabat ad fanum...._ In King Alfred's Anglo-Saxon version of Bede, -_aras_ is represented by wigbed, _fana_ by heargas, _idolorum_ by -deofolgild, a _septis_ in one place by hegum (hedges), and in the other by -getymbro. Getymbro may mean a construction of any material, but probably -here of timber ("Eccl. Hist.," ii. c. 13). - -[9] There is another notice of the existence of temples among the East -Saxons, in the narrative of Bishop Jaruman's work of reclaiming the half -of those people under the rule of the sub-king Sighere, when they had -relapsed to their old superstitions as the result of the great plague of -664 A.D. Bede says that the people "began to restore the temples that had -been abandoned, and to adore idols"; but Jaruman "restored them to the way -of righteousness; so that, either forsaking or destroying the temples and -altars which they had erected, they reopened the churches." At first -sight, the narrative gives the idea of a number of temples, and a number -of churches scattered over the country; but, on consideration, we call to -mind that the East Saxons had been converted by Cedd only ten or twelve -years before (653), and that we do not read of his building more than two -churches, one at Tilbury on the Thames, the other at Bradwell, at the -mouth of the Blackwater, which was probably outside the district in -question; and the temples spoken of may not have been more numerous than -the churches mentioned in the same vague terms; or Bede may have had in -mind the open-air places of worship of the old religion and the prayer -stations at which the Christian missionaries used to assemble their -converts ("Eccl. Hist.," iii. c. 30). - -[10] Professor Skeat, in letters to the present writer. - -[11] Anglo-Saxon nom. _hearh_; dat. _hearge_; pl. nom. _heargas_. Many -English words are formed on "dative" types. - -[12] In Icelandic, _hoergr_ = "a heathen place of worship, an altar of -stone erected on a high place, or a sacrificial cairn built in the open -air, and without images." - -[13] Whitaker's "Craven," p. 500. - -[14] Saint Lewinna is said to have suffered _martyrdom_ for her faith at -the hands of the heathen South Saxon, during the time of Archbishop -Theodore. "Acta Sanct.," July 24, p. 608, and "Sussex Archeol. Coll.," -vol. i. p. 45. - -[15] Some stories of the introduction of Christianity among others of the -rude northern peoples are well worth giving as an illustration, in -likenesses, and in contrasts, of our own story, and especially because -they give a quantity of details which will supply the paucity of such -details in our own histories. They are later in time, but they belong to a -similar phase of manners. - -When Harold Klak, King of Jutland, who had received baptism on a visit to -the Court of Louis le Debonaire (A.D. 820), returned home and destroyed -the native shrines, proscribed the sacrifices, and abolished the -priesthood, his people resented it, and drove him into exile. - -Hacon of Norway had been baptized at the Court of our King Athelstan. At -first he sent for a bishop and priests from England; a few of his intimate -companions received baptism, and two or three churches were built in the -district more immediately subject to him. Then at the Froste Thing, the -winter assembly of the whole people, the king proposed to them to accept -baptism. One of the bonders replied, in the name of his fellow-chiefs, -"The ancient faith which our fathers and forefathers held from the oldest -times, though we are not so brave men as our ancestors, has served us to -the present time. If you intend to take the matter up with a high hand, -and try to force us, we bonders," he said, "have resolved among ourselves -to part with you, and take some other chief, under whom we may freely and -safely enjoy the faith which suits our inclinations." The following winter -four of the bonders bound themselves by oath to force the king to -sacrifice to the gods, and to root out Christianity from Norway. The -churches were burnt, and the priests stoned, and when the king came to the -Yule Thing, he consented to taste the horseflesh of the sacrifice, and -drink to the gods. - -When Olaf Tryggveson gained the throne of Norway, having been baptized in -England, he began by destroying the temples in his own territory, and -declared that he would make all Norway Christian or die. The crisis came -at the Midsummer Althing, held at Maere, where was an ancient temple; and -thither all the great chiefs and bonders, and the whole strength of the -heathen party, assembled. At a preliminary meeting of the bonders, Olaf -proposed to them to adopt the Christian religion; they demanded, on the -other hand, that he should offer sacrifice to the gods. He consented to go -with them to the temple, and entered it with a great number of his own -adherents; and when the sacrifice began the king suddenly struck down the -image of Thor with his gold inlaid axe so that it rolled down at his feet; -at this signal his men struck down the rest of the images from their -seats, and then came forth and again demanded that the people should -abandon their belief in gods who were so powerless. The people -surrendered, and "took baptism." Subsequently, Olaf Haraldson (1015), -learning that the old sacrifices were still secretly offered at Maere, and -other places, surprised a party at Maere, who were engaged in the forbidden -worship, put their leader to death, and confiscated the property of the -rest. Then Olaf went to the uplands, and summoned a Thing. Gudbrand, a -powerful chief of the district, sent a message-token summoning the -peasants far and wide to come to the Thing, and resist the king's demand -to abandon their ancient faith. Gudbrand had a temple on his own land, in -which was an image of Thor, made up of wood, of great size, hollow within, -covered without with ornaments of gold and silver. At the first meeting, -Sigurd the Bishop, arrayed in his robes, with his mitre on his head, and -his staff in his hand, preached to the assembly about the true faith and -the wonderful works of God. When he had finished, one of the bonders said: -"Many things are told us by this horned man, with a staff in his hand, -crooked at the top like a ram's horn; since your God, you say, is so -powerful, tell him to make it clear sunshine to-morrow, and we will meet -you here again, and do one of two things--either agree with you about this -matter, or fight you." Accordingly, on the morrow, before sunrise, the -assembly came together again to the Thing-field, Olaf and his followers on -one side, and Gudbrand and his men bringing with them into the field the -great image of Thor, glittering with gold and silver, to which the heathen -party did obeisance. Olaf had given instructions beforehand to one of his -chiefs, Kolbein the Strong, who usually carried besides his sword a great -club. "Dale Gudbrand," said the king, "thinks to frighten us with his god, -who cannot even move without being carried. You say that our God is -invisible, turn your eyes to the east, and behold his splendour," (for the -sun was just rising above the horizon). And when they all turned to look, -Kolbein the Strong acted upon his instructions; he struck the idol with -his war-club with such force that it broke in pieces, and a number of mice -ran out of it among the crowd. Olaf taunted them with the helplessness of -such a god; and Gudbrand admitted the force of the argument. "Our god will -not help us, so we will believe on the God thou believest in." He and all -present were baptized, and received the teachers whom King Olaf and Bishop -Sigurd set over them, and Gudbrand himself built a church in the valley. - -There was a great temple at Upsala, with idols of Thor, Woden, and Frigga, -which was afterwards converted into a church (see Snorre Sturlusun's -"Heimskringla," translated by S. Lang, with notes by R. B. Anderson, vol. -i. pp. 103-105, 110, and vol. iv. p. 40). - -Temples and sacrifices seem to imply the existence of priests; but it is -remarkable that, in the collisions between Hakon and the Olafs and the -heathenism of Norway, there is no mention of a single priest. - -[16] Bede, "Eccles. Hist.," ii. 14. - -[17] Ibid., ii. 16. - -[18] Bede, iii. 3. - -[19] Ibid., iii. 5. - -[20] Ibid., iii. 14. - -[21] Ibid., v. 6. There are other indications that travellers sometimes -took tents on their journeys through the thinly inhabited country. - -[22] Pertz, ii. 334. - -[23] Bede, iii. 26. - -[24] Bede, iv. 27. - -[25] In the life of St. Willibald, we read that "it was the ancient custom -of the Saxon nation, on the estates of some of their nobles and great men, -to erect not a church, but the sign of the Holy Cross, dedicated to God, -beautifully and honourably adorned, and exalted on high for the common use -of daily prayer" (Acta SS. Ord. Benedict, sect. iii., part 2). So it was a -custom with "St. Kentigern to erect a cross in any place where he had -converted the people, and where he had been staying for a time" ("Vita -Kentigerni," by Joscelin, the Monk of Furness). Adalbert, a Gallic bishop, -in the time of St. Boniface, preached in fields and at wells, and set up -little crosses and oratories in various places. - -[26] The church at Bradfield-on-Avon, recently discovered, unaltered and -uninjured, was probably the church of one of these monasteries. - -[27] Of the early monasteries of the East Saxons, the East Anglians, the -South Saxons, and of the Dioceses of Rochester and Hereford, little is -known. - -[28] "Historical Church Atlas," E. McClure. - -[29] Secular monasteries are alluded to in the fifth canon of Clovesho -(A.D. 747), and eighth canon of Calchythe (816). A canon of Clovesho (803) -forbad laymen to be abbots. - -[30] Bishop of Oxford, "Const. Hist.," i. 251. - -[31] The Bishop of Oxford, however, says, "Occasional traces of -Ecclesiastical assemblies of single kingdoms occur, but they are scarcely -distinguishable from the separate Witenagemots" ("Const. Hist.," i. 264). - -[32] The 123rd of the novels. - -[33] Labbe and Cossart Councils, 9. 119. - -[34] Letters of Gregory the Great, lib. xii. ep. xi. (Migne 77, p. 1226). - -[35] Another capitulary, dated 832, ordained that if there were an -unendowed church it should be endowed with a manse and two villani by the -freemen who frequented it, and if they refuse it shall be pulled down. - -[36] When Willibrord, a Northumbrian educated at Ripon, was evangelizing -Frankish Frisia, 692, etc., Alcuin records that he founded not only -monasteries but encouraged the foundation of parish churches. Alcuin, -"Opera II.," tom. 101, p. 834. Migne. - -[37] Bede, iii. 17. - -[38] Ibid., v. 4, 5. - -[39] At the same time, to encourage commerce, a merchant who had made -three voyages in his own ship was entitled to the rank of Thane. - -[40] The Bishop of Oxford and earlier authorities are of opinion that the -"burg geat settl" means the right of jurisdiction over tenants. Sharon -Turner conjectures that the place in the king's hall means a seat in the -Witenagemot. - -[41] Thorpe, "Ancient Laws," i. 367. - -[42] S.P.C.K., "Roch. Dioc. Hist.," p. 25. - -[43] Ellis's "Introduction to Domesday Book." - -[44] Parishes with two rectors continued not infrequently throughout the -Middle Ages; there are some even to the present day. The way in which the -parochial duties were divided is indicated by two examples given in -Whitaker's "Craven" (p. 504). Linton has two rectors, who take the service -in alternate weeks; they have their stalls on either side of the choir, -and parsonage houses nearly adjoining one another. So at Bonsal each -rector has his own stall and pulpit. - -Sometimes each mediety had its own church. The churches of Willingale -Spain and Willingale Doe, in Essex, are in the same churchyard. At -Pakefield, Suffolk, there is a double church, each with its choir and nave -and altar, divided only by an open arcade. - -[45] Bot = compensation. - -[46] This is the earliest notice (in England at least) of the ancient -custom of having a confirmation god-parent, different from the baptismal -sponsors. There are other notices of it in the canons of Edgar (see p. 69) -and the twenty-second of the laws of Canute; and in many canons of English -Mediaeval Diocesan Councils. Queen Elizabeth and Edward VI. were each -baptized and confirmed at the same time, and, according to primitive -custom, each had three baptismal sponsors and one confirmation god-parent. -It is still enjoined by the third rubric at the end of the Church -Catechism and by the twenty-ninth of the canons of 1603. - -[47] _i.e._ be scourged. - -[48] So it is usually stated, but the date and place of the council are -very questionable. - -[49] Zachary's letters to the English inhabitants of Britain were in Latin -and English. The documents are not on record, but we are told that they -were read at the Council; in them he "familiariter admonebat et veraciter -conveniebat et postremo amabiliter exorabat," and to those who despise -these modes of address he "anathematis sententiam procul dubio properandam -insinuabat." - -[50] This prayer is as follows: "O Lord, we beseech Thee, of Thy great -mercy, grant that the soul of (such a person) may be secured in a state of -peace and repose, and that he may be admitted with the rest of Thy saints -into the region of light and happiness." - -[51] Among the "Canons of Edgar," the following occurs:--"A powerful man -may satisfy a sentence of seven years' fasting in three days. Let him lay -aside his weapons and ornaments, and go barefoot and live hard, etc., and -take to him twelve men to fast three days on bread, water, and green -herbs, and get wherever he can 7 times 120 men, who shall fast for him -three days, then will be fasted as many fasts as there are days in seven -years." - -[52] Thorpe, i. 227. - -[53] It is not known by whose authority the ecclesiastical regulations -which are entitled the canons of Edgar were drawn up, but they appear to -be of this date. - -[54] That it might be seen that they were complete and in good order, just -as the laity came to the Hundred mote or Wapentake with their weapons. For -list of them see AElfric's Pastoral, 44. - -[55] To keep a copy of the constitutions made at the synod. - -[56] The time was subsequently shortened to seven days. - -[57] Probably spots of ground accounted sacred. - -[58] In the "vulgar tongue." - -[59] The priests had a small consecrated slab of stone which they used on -missionary journeys and at other times. - -[60] The Legatine Council of Cealchythe (787, 5 c.) explains this by -saying he must not celebrate with naked thighs. (See Exodus xxviii. 42.) - -[61] For hours of service see Thorpe, "Ancient Laws," etc., ii. 359. - -[62] By laws of Alfred and Guthrum, if a priest misdirect people about a -festival or fast he shall pay 30_s._ - -[63] Meaning obscure. - -[64] The chief distinction between nuns and mynchens appears to have -consisted in the superior age and strictness of life of the former -(Thorpe, "Ancient Laws"). - -[65] The laws of Canute say 1/2_d._ worth of wax for every hide on Easter -Eve, All Saints, and Purification. - -[66] Allusions to the Danish incursions. - -[67] Fifth law of Ine. - -[68] Law 16. - -[69] Law 17. - -[70] Mr. Kemble, as we have seen, is of opinion that the people in those -days of heathendom had a temple in every township, and that the priesthood -were endowed with lands as well as offerings, but we do not find -sufficient evidence of this. - -[71] The monks of Jumieges, in the seventh century, fitted out vessels and -sailed great distances to redeem slaves. St. Eligius spent large sums in -redeeming them--20, 50, 100 at a time. Christian missionaries bought -slaves, and trained them as Christians. - -[72] "Diplomatarium Anglicanum." - -[73] "Collier," i. 241. The Cathedral Churches of the Continent were -universally served by Canons. - -[74] Bishop of Oxford's "Select Charters," p. 73. - -[75] Robert d'Oyley, a powerful Norman noble, repaired the ruinous -parochial churches in and out of Oxford in the reign of William I. -(Brewer, "Endowment, etc., of the Church of England," p. 74). Corsuen -built a number of houses and two churches on a piece of land granted to -him in the suburb of Lincoln. (? St. Mary le Wigford, and St. Peter at -Gowts.) - -[76] Eyton's "Shropshire" mentions several cases in that county. - -[77] Bohn's edition of "Eccl. Hist, of Ordericus Vitalis," i. 10. - -[78] Nearly all the village churches of the Craven district of Yorkshire -were built in the time of Henry I., and many of them enlarged in the time -of Henry VIII. (Whitaker's "Craven"). - -[79] Orderic, iv. xxiv. - -[80] It was stopped by Innocent III. in a decretal letter to the -Archbishop of Canterbury, c. 1200. - -[81] See Sir H. Ellis's "Introduction to Domesday," i. 324, 325. - -[82] The Church of Gisburn, Yorkshire, was given to the Nunnery of -Stainfield, Lincolnshire, by a Percy. For fifty years the nuns simply -presented to the rectory like any other patron; then in 1226 Archbishop -Walter Gray assigned them _ad proprios usus_, half a carucate of the glebe -land, and the tithe of corn in various places named, but without endowing -a vicarage, and the convent presented six more rectors under those -conditions; it was not until 1341 that a vicarage was ordained. -(Whitaker's "Craven," p. 45). - -[83] This Council also forbade a vicar to hold more than one parish. - -[84] Where the religious house was situated in or near the parish church, -special arrangements were not infrequently made. At Tortington, near -Arundel, Sussex, was a small house of Austin canons which existed before -the time of King John. The vicar of the parish had a corrody in the house, -consisting of a right to board and lodging for himself and a serving boy. -At Sybeton, Suffolk, the vicar and curate had their lodging and food in -the religious house ("Valor," iii. 442). At Taunton, in 1308, the Priory -supplied the vicar with allowances of bread and ale, and hay and corn, and -two shillings a year for the shoeing of his horse ("Bath and Wells," p. -121, S.P.C.K.). See also Lenton, p. 404. - -[85] One of the constitutions of Archbishop Stratford (1333) requires -religious appropriators of churches to give a benefaction to the poor -yearly, according to the judgment of the bishop, on pain of sequestration. - -[86] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 310. Upon making an appropriation an -annual pension was usually reserved to the bishop and his successors, -payable by the body benefited, for a recompense of the profits which the -bishops would otherwise have received (Sir R. Phillimore, "Ecclesiastical -Law"). - -[87] _i.e._, which had obtained from the Court of Rome exemption from the -Bishop's ordinary jurisdiction. - -[88] According to Matthew Paris, "the bishops of England at that time -designed to recover from the monasteries all the appropriated churches. -Grostete of Lincoln took steps to carry out the design in his diocese, but -the monks appealed to Rome and defeated the bishop" (Matthew Paris, Bohn's -ed., ii. pp. 325, 326, 401, 420). - -[89] Gray's "Register," p. 113. Surtees Society. - -[90] Ibid., p. 112. - -[91] Gray's "Register," p. 113. Surtees Society. - -[92] Extracts from Lincoln Registers. Harl. MS. 6950, p. 1250. - -[93] Bronscombe's "Register," p. 253. - -[94] Ibid., p. 330. - -[95] Ibid., p. 334. - -[96] "Bath and Wells," p. 122, S.P.C.K. - -[97] Long Preston, in Craven, is mentioned in "Domesday." In the reign of -Stephen it was granted by Wm. de Amundeville to the church and canons of -Embsay. In 1303, Archbishop Corbridge ordained that the church should be -served by a fit vicar and his ministers. In 1307 there was another -"taxation," a third in 1322, and a fourth in 1455 (Whitaker, "Craven," p. -145). - -[98] In the Episcopal Register of Lincoln, under date 25th April, 1511, -William, Abbot of Oseney, was admitted to the Vicarage of St. Mary -Magdalen, Oxford, on the presentation of the Abbot and Convent of the -same. - -[99] "Lichfield," p. 138, S.P.C.K. - -[100] It was this which made a rectory so much like a small monastery in -its constitution, that rectories were often called minsters, and -monasteries often merged into rectories. - -[101] Hopesay and Hopton, originally probably chapels parochial of Clun, -were of the nature of free chapels, _i.e._ not at the disposal of the -baroness or of the rector, but only of the lord of the fee (Eyton's -"Shropshire," ix. 258). - -[102] Eyton's "Shropshire," viii. 149. - -[103] The two chapels of Rilston and Coniston--(Coniston chapel is very -early Norman, or still earlier, with triangular windows)--in the parish of -Burnsal, co. York, as late as the beginning of this century had had no -chaplains or separate endowment, but were still served in the primitive -mode by the Rector of Burnsal; both have cylindrical fonts of high -antiquity, and therefore must always have had the sacramentalia. Chapels -with these rights were always presentable, and served by chaplains who -took an oath of obedience to the rector, and were not removable at -pleasure; whereas mere chapels-of-ease were served by stipendiaries -removable, or by the parish priest himself (Whitaker's "Craven," p. 528). - -[104] The probable explanation is that the lord of the ville of Billingley -had made some arrangement with the mother church for the payment of half -his tithe to his own chapel; the small payments from the other chapels -were acknowledgments of subjection. - -[105] The original deed is in possession of Mr. G. Morris, of Shrewsbury. -"Know all men, both now and hereafter, on the day of the dedication of the -cemetery of Eston that I, Robert, son of Aher, gave to God and to the -chapel of the same vill of Eston one virgate of land, containing sixty -acres, and all tithe of my demesne of the same vill, and one mansion, for -the health of my soul and of all my predecessors and successors. And that -my gift may be free and quit of all reclaim by me or my heirs and may ever -remain firm and stable I have fortified it with this present writing, and -with the impression of my seal.--There being witnesses Robert, Bishop of -Hereford, Reinald, Prior of Wenlock, Peter the archdeacon, and many -others" (Eyton's "Shropshire," i. p. 207). - -[106] See p. 90. - -[107] There were more monasteries founded in the reign of Stephen than in -any other period of similar duration. - -[108] A. Heales, "History of Kingston-upon-Thames." - -[109] Archbishop Gray's "Register," p. 168. - -[110] Ibid., p. 211. - -[111] Archbishop Gray's "Register," p. 45. - -[112] Ibid. - -[113] Eyton's "Shropshire," v. 28. - -[114] Whitaker's "History of Whalley," p. 223. - -[115] Whitaker's "History of Whalley," pp. 223-225. - -[116] The great Law-book of the Mediaeval Church. - -[117] The king is supposed to visit his own chapels and hospitals by the -Lord High Chancellor. - -[118] Sir R. Phillimore. - -[119] In the college at Tonge, any one of the five chaplains bringing a -guest to dinner was to pay for him 3_d._ if at the high table, and 1/4_d._ -if at the low (S.P.C.K., "Lichfield," p. 161). - -[120] A. Heales, "History of the Free Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen, -Kingston-on-Thames." - -[121] Pages 20 and 82. - -[122] Page 68. - -[123] When Winfrid, afterwards St. Boniface, showed a strong precocious -vocation for the religious life, his father, who seems to have been the -principal person of his town, forthwith sent him--at six or seven years of -age--to a religious house at Exeter, to be educated for the Church. - -[124] Men who had any serious personal blemish, or any defect in respect -to birth, learning, or morals, were excluded by canon from ordination -(Constitutions of Otho, 1237). Illegitimacy and servile origin were both -defects of birth. - -[125] Thorold Rogers, "Agriculture and Prices in England," vol. ii. pp. -613, 615, 616. - -[126] "Eccl. Proceedings of Courts of Durham," Surtees Society, p. 5. - -[127] John Knox said, "Every scholar is something added to the riches of -the Commonwealth." - -[128] See the quotation in its entirety on p. 278. - -[129] Cobbler. - -[130] "The Babees Book," Early English Text Society, p. 401. - -Of Archbishops of Canterbury, the parentage of William of Corbeuil is not -known; the inference is that it was humble. Thomas Becket was the son of a -London citizen; Richard, of humble parents; Baldwin, of humble parents at -Exeter; Richard Grant, parentage unknown; Edmund Rich, son of a merchant -at Abingdon; Richard Kilwardby, a Dominican friar of unknown parentage; -Robert Winchelsey, probably of humble birth; Walter Reynolds, the son of a -baker at Windsor; Chichele, a shepherd-boy, picked up and educated by -William of Wykham; Cranmer's people were small squires in Notts. And so in -other sees. Ralph Flambard, Bishop of Durham, the great Justiciar of Henry -I., was the son of a poor Norman priest; Thomas of Rotherham, Archbishop -of York, was of obscure parentage; Richard of Wych, the saintly Bishop of -Chichester, was the son of a decayed farmer at Droitwich, and for several -years worked on the land like a labourer; the famous Grostete was of a -poor family at Stradbroke, Suffolk; Thomas of Beckington, Bishop of Bath -and Wells, is said to have been the son of a weaver; John of Sheppey was -taken up and educated by Hamo, Bishop of Rochester, and succeeded his -benefactor in the see. - -[131] By 9 Ed. II. c. 8, clerks in the king's service were declared not -bound to residence on their benefice. - -[132] The custom might sometimes be misleading. Thus, a priest in the -diocese of Bath and Wells with the high-sounding name of Richard de Burgh, -was a villein of the bishop who had given him freedom and holy orders. - -[133] See notice of the college founded by Archbishop Thomas of Rotherham, -p. 517. - -[134] The universal ignorance of the Greek language at that time made the -great works of the Eastern Church a sealed book to the scholars of the -West. - -[135] At the Council of Trent, nearly three hundred years after his death, -the "Summa" was placed on the secretary's desk beside the Holy Scriptures, -as containing the orthodox solution of all theological questions. - -[136] Wesley published an edition of it. - -[137] Peter Lombard's "Text-book." - -[138] "Norfolk Archaeology," vol. iv. p. 342. - -[139] "Lincoln," p. 194. S.P.C.K. - -[140] "The York Pontifical," p. 370. Surtees Society. - -[141] In the Diocese of York, in 1344-5, there were ordained-- - - Acolytes 421 - Sub-deacons 204, of whom 71 were regulars. - Deacons 326 " 96 " - Priests 271 " 44 " - ---- -- - 1222 211 - -In 1510-11, there were-- - - Acolytes 298, of whom 17 were regulars. - Sub-deacons 296 " 51 " - Deacons 248 " 41 " - Priests 265 " 173 " - ---- --- - 1107 282 - -In the first year of the episcopate of Bishop Stapledon of Exeter, viz. -from December 21, 1308, to September 20, 1309, there were ordained 539 to -the first tonsure, 438 acolytes, 104 sub-deacons, 177 deacons, 169 -priests. - -In the year from March 22, 1314, to December 20, 1315, there were ordained -75 to the first tonsure, 71 acolytes, 44 sub-deacons, 50 deacons, 66 -priests. - -[142] "In 1281 the Pope dispensed an acolyte, whose left little finger had -been shortened while a child by an unskilful surgeon, to hold a benefice -notwithstanding the defect" ("Calendar of Papal Registers," 1491). "Jacob -Lowe and Sampson Meverall, base born, and Godfrey Ely, blind of one eye, -were dispensed by the Pope for ordination" ("Register of Smyth, Bishop of -Lichfield," p. 175). - -[143] "Lichfield," p. 129. S.P.C.K. See additional examples in the chapter -on Abuses. - -[144] - - Now hath each rich a rule - To eaten by themselve, - In a privy parlour - For poor man sake, - Or in a chamber with a chimney; - And leave the chief hall, - That was made for meals - Men to eaten in. - The "Vision of Piers Ploughman." - -[145] Of which there is a description and drawing in the Records of the -Archaeological Society of that county, vol. ii. p. 251. - -[146] In those days the rooms of a house were not massed compactly -together under one roof; the hall was the primitive house, and additions -to it were effected by annexing distinct buildings, each of which was -called a house. - -[147] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. p. 350. - -[148] "Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society," vol. ii. part ii. -(New Series), p. 141. - -[149] Alfred Heales, "Kingston-on-Thames," p. 17. - -[150] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. p. 103. - -[151] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 281. - -[152] Ibid., ii. 284. - -[153] "Hist. of England," i. p. 41. - -[154] A lawsuit gives us a glimpse of John of Bishopstone, the rector of -Cliffe, at Hoo, going to church on the Sunday before Christmas, 1363, -accompanied by his chaplains, clerks, and household, as if they all lived -together (S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 188). - -[155] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 97. - -[156] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 46. - -[157] Ibid., ii. 309. - -[158] A statute of 3 Ed. I., A.D. 1275, says, "Abbeys have been -overcharged by the resort of great men and others; none shall come to eat -or lodge in any house of religion of any others' foundation than his own; -this does not intend that the grace of hospitality be withdrawn from such -as need." - -[159] See Matthew Paris under 1240 A.D., "to receive guests, rich and -poor, and show hospitality to laity and clergy according to their means, -as the custom of the place requires." - -[160] In the returns of a survey of the estates of the Dean and Chapter of -Exeter in 1300 both the manor houses and the rectory houses are included, -and their similarity is evident: "Culmstock Manor. There is a hall in the -Manor, and a soler within the hall and a chamber, a kitchen without -_furnum and turella_ (stove and small turret for smoke and ventilation), -and a dove house; there wants a granary. Utpottery. There is in the -farmhouse a sufficient hall and chamber, a new grange, and other -sufficient houses, 1330. Vicar of Colyton, Richard Brondiche, is a leper. -Colyton _Domus Sanctuarii_ (house in the churchyard). There is there a -competent hall with a chamber and chimney, a competent kitchen, without -_turella_, however; two granges; the other houses are sufficient; the -gardens are eaten up with age and badly kept. Branscombe Manor. There is a -hall with two chambers and garderobes good and sufficient; a new kitchen -with a good _turella_; all the other houses in good condition" ("Register -of Bishop Grandisson," part i. p. 572). - -[161] Clive, in the diocese of Worcester, was appropriated to Worcester -Priory; formerly the rector lived in the _Aula Personae_. In the middle of -the thirteenth century the rectory house was let to a tenant. The vicar -lived in one of several houses in the village which belonged to the -benefice; there were two chaplains, one of whom lived in another of these -houses, and the second in a soler ("Register of Worcester Priory" (Camden -Society), p. lxxxi.). - -[162] "Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages," p. 133. - -[163] "Essex Archaeol. Transactions," vol. vi. part iii. - -[164] Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Bishop Grandisson," pp. 349, 356. - -[165] Lyndewode, "Provinciale." Compare the 74th of the Canons of 1603. - -[166] "Grostete's Letters" (Rolls Series), p. 49. - -[167] "York Fabric Rolls" (Surtees Society), p. 243. - -[168] For picture of the basilard and purse see Royal MS., 6 Ed. VI., f. -478, p. 492, etc. - -[169] Catalogus omnium qui admissi pet'runt in fraternitatis beneficium -Monasterii Sti. Albani, cum picturis eorum et compendiosis narrationibus. -(British Mus., Nero D., vii.) - -[170] These, with the descriptions, are taken from "Scenes and Characters -of the Middle Ages," by the present writer. - -[171] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 57. - -[172] Ibid., p. 130. - -[173] The record of a suit in the Ecclesiastical Court of Durham gives us -a curious little illustrative anecdote of a quarrel in the Rectory of -Walsingham, in the year 1370. The bishop, the archdeacon, and their -attendants were passing the night there, probably after a Visitation. The -record tells us in full detail how, after the Bishop had gone out of the -hall of the rectory into the chamber, the family remaining in the hall, -Nicholas de Skelton uttered threats against John of Auckland, the servant -of the archdeacon, viz. that he would break his head. One of the -archdeacon's people intervened, when the angry Nicholas threatened to -break his head also. The archdeacon seems to have then interfered, when a -servant of Nicholas, offering to strike the archdeacon with a hawking -staff, the archdeacon drew his _cultellum_; the servant broke it in two -with his staff; the archdeacon hurled the half which he held, and it -killed another of the company who happened to interpose. The archdeacon -was summoned before the Court to answer for the homicide. - -[174] Quoted from "Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages," p. 248, by -the present writer. - -[175] Cushion for the back and seat of the bench. - -[176] "Wills and Inventories" (Surtees Society), p. 54. - -[177] "Testamenta Ebor.," i. p. 371. - -[178] "Testamenta Ebor.," i. p. 385. - -[179] "Testamenta Ebor.," i. p. 82. - -[180] York: "Wills and Inventories," p. 117. - -[181] "Essex Archaeol. Transactions," vol. vi. part ii. (New Series), p. -123. - -[182] Holinshed's "Description of Britain," p. 233. - -[183] Johnson's "Canons," etc., ii. 365. - -[184] Stapledon's "Register," p. 182. - -[185] H. Randolph, p. 378. - -[186] Lyndewode, "Provinciale," p. 35. - -[187] Archbishop Gray's "Register," p. 217. - -[188] Laid on tombs, or hung on the walls as ornaments. See Matthew Paris, -under 1256 (v. 574, Rolls ed.). - -[189] See woodcut, p. 165. - -[190] "Antiquary," 1897, pp. 279, 298. - -[191] For explanation of the meaning of the vestments in the "Book of -Ceremonies," 1539, see Mackenzie Walcott, "Parish Churches before the -Reformation." - -[192] It is to be regretted that in the revived use of copes, as seen, for -example, on the steps at the west end of St. Paul's, on the day of the -Queen's Jubilee procession, the designers have taken the unwieldy and -ungraceful fifteenth and sixteenth century garment as their pattern; it is -shaped like a cone, it does not fit the shoulders, it imprisons the arms, -its corners overlap in front, while its hood sticks up at the back of the -head. - -[193] Humbert de Romain, General of the Dominicans in the thirteenth -century, says that "the great and the poor seldom visited the churches." -Neander's "Church History," vii. 439 (Bohn). The great, as we shall see in -Chapter XXVII., had their domestic chapels. - -[194] T. Belson and J. Fowler, c. 1570, were sentenced to do penance in -church for working on a Sunday ("Ecclesiastical Proceedings of the Courts -of Durham" (Surtees Society), p. 105). Again, c. 1450, several persons -accused of working on Sundays and saints' days were sentenced to precede -the procession as penitents, to receive two "fustigations," and to abstain -from so offending in future under a penalty of 6_s._ 8_d._ (pp. 28-30). In -1451, Isabella Hunter and Katherine Pykering were sentenced, for washing -linen on the festival of St. Mary Magdalene, to receive two fustigations -_cum manipulo lini_ (p. 30). - -Francis Gray was admonished to come to church on Sunday under penalty of -4_d._, and on the festivals under penalty of 2_d._, to be applied to the -fabric of the church of Durham (p. 27). - -The same year Thomas Kirkham and Thomas Hunter, accused of mowing a -certain meadow on the festival of St. Oswald and receiving payment for it, -were sentenced to precede the procession, carrying in hand a bottle of -hay, to receive four fustigations, and not to offend again under penalty -of 10_s._ (p. 32). - -[195] Lyndwode says, "It maybe gathered that mass was always preceded by -matins or primes" (iii. 23). - -[196] This was the normal hour in the time of Gregory of Tours and of -Gregory the Great. - -[197] Bishop Poore, in his "Rule for Anchoresses," advises them not to be -communicated oftener than twelve times a year. The Lateran Council of 1215 -ordered that every one should communicate at least once a year at Easter, -and should confess at least once a year before Easter. - -[198] Common. - -[199] From Whitaker's text of "Piers Ploughman's Vision," part ii. p. 529. - -[200] Ibid. i. 104. - -[201] Early English Text Society. - -[202] In the presentation of the churchwardens of Ricall, Yorkshire, in -1519, they complain that "pedlars come into the church porch on feast -days, and there sell their goods." - -In 1416 the wardens and questmen of St. Michael-le-Belfry, York, presented -that "a common market of vendibles is held in the churchyard on Sundays -and holy days, and divers things, and goods, and rushes, are exposed for -sale" ("York Fabric Rolls"). - -[203] Cardwell. - -[204] Procter, "Hist. of the Book of Common Prayer," p. 227. - -[205] Peckham's "Constitutions," 1281, bid every priest to celebrate at -least once a week. - -[206] "The York Manual," by Rev. J. Raine (Surtees Society), p. 123. - -[207] See pp. 460, 461, 496, and p. 472. - -[208] The canons of Edgar required the clergy to preach every Sunday. - -[209] It was early in the twelfth century that seven was adopted as the -number of the Sacraments, vices, virtues, etc. The seven Sacraments are -first mentioned by Otto, Bishop of Bamberg, in 1124 (Neander, "Church -History," vii. 465). - -[210] See second footnote, p. 214. - -[211] See second footnote, p. 214. - -[212] Not infrequently a great preacher was sent by a bishop round his -diocese, and people were invited by the offer of indulgences to all who -would go to hear him. - -[213] From a very early time what we reckon as the first and second -commandments were taken together as the first; and what we reckon as the -tenth was divided into two. So King Alfred gives them in the beginning of -his Code of Law. - -[214] _Cum superstitionibus characterum._ - -[215] "Indolence, carnal security." - -[216] His writings are chiefly translations or adaptations of the works of -St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, and Hugh and Richard of St. Victor. They are -marked by tenderness of feeling, vigour, and eloquence in his prose style, -and grace and beauty in his verse. See "Yorkshire Writers"--"Richard of -Hampole and his Followers," by C. Horstman, 1895. Here is a short example -from "The Book made by Richard Hampole, Hermit, for an Anchoress" (Early -Eng. Text Society). "Wit thou well that a bodily turning to God without -thine heart following, is but a figure and likeness of virtue and of no -soothfastness. Therefore a wretched man or woman is that who neglecteth -all the inward keepings of himself, and maketh himself outwardly a form -only and likeness of holiness in habit or clothing, in speech and in -bodily works, beholding other men's deeds and judging their faults, -thinking himself to be something when he is nothing, and so neglecteth -himself. Do thou not so, but turn thine heart with thy body principally to -God, and shape thee within in His likeness, by meekness and charity and -other spiritual virtues, and then art thou truly turned to Him." - -[217] See "The Parson's Tale," in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." - -[218] Also in the Stowe MS. 89, 2, there are a series of trees -representing virtues and vices. - -[219] Together. - -[220] Other sponsors were required at the Confirmation (see p. 59). - -[221] Archbishop Simon of Sudbury, 1378, made a Constitution that all -should confess and communicate thrice a year, viz. Easter, Pentecost, and -Christmas, on pain of excommunication and refusal of burial (Johnson's -"Laws and Canons," ii. 444). - -[222] Death. - -[223] In the latter part of the eleventh century, for reasons of -expediency, the custom was introduced of dipping the bread into the wine, -and so administering to the communicants. This was condemned by the -Council of Claremont 1095, but kept its ground in England till forbidden -by the Council of London in 1175. The withdrawal of the wine from the -laity altogether began in the twelfth century. Anselm had prepared the way -by affirming that "the whole Christ was taken under either species." -Robert Pulleyn, 1170, taught that the flesh of Christ alone should be -distributed to the laity. The practice came into gradual use in the -thirteenth century; the second canon of Archbishop Peckham, 1281, bids the -parish priests to teach the more ignorant of the laity that the body and -blood of Christ are received under the single species of the bread. It is -believed not to have become general in England till it was ordered by the -Council of Constance in 1415, which excommunicated all priests who should -communicate the laity in both kinds. It is to be observed that in the -Sarum Missal there is no recognition whatever of administration in one -kind. - -In some churches there was an endowment for the provision of the holy -bread, as at St. Mary Magdalen, Colchester. - -[224] Gravely. - -[225] Both. - -[226] Hence. - -[227] Maiden. - -[228] This was first ordered by Pope Honorius III. in 1217. - -[229] The churchyard was frequently called the "sanctuary." - -[230] Ratified. - -[231] In baptism. - -[232] Locked. - -[233] There are various forms on record of this "general sentence of -excommunication." Two are given at pp. 86 and 119 of the "York Manual" -(Surtees Society). - -[234] Upon. - -[235] Go. - -[236] See plate opposite. - -[237] Printed by the Early English Text Society. - -[238] Chasuble. - -[239] Believe. - -[240] Another version says, "Don't wait for the priest to ask for the mass -penny, but go up and offer, though there is no obligation; it will make -your chattle increase in your coffer." - -[241] From another version of the book we extract the following sentence, -which contains an expression of the doctrine of the Eucharist-- - - Every day thou mayest see - The same body that died for thee, - Tent[A] if thou wilt take, - In figure and in form of bread, - That Jesus dealt ere He were dead, - For His disciples' sake. - - [A] Heed. - -[242] Abroad. - -[243] Dead. - -[244] Give utterance to. - -[245] Also. - -[246] "The Epic of the Fall of Man" (S. H. Gurteen), 1896. The translation -seems to be as close as may be, consistently with an intelligible -expression of the thoughts of the original and a poetical form. - -[247] "Political, Religious, and Love Poems," Furnival (Early English Text -Society), pp. 111, 151, 162. - -[248] Ransom. - -[249] Song of Solomon, ii. 5, 8. - -[250] Whence his pain. - -[251] Prosperity. - -[252] It is easy to quote a long list of quasi-married bishops and -dignitaries of this period. The last two bishops of Elmham, Stigand and -Ethelmar, appointed by the saintly and ascetic Edward the Confessor, were -married men; so was Herbert, the first bishop of the same see (removed to -Norwich), appointed by the Conqueror, and perhaps the second William -(1086), and Edward (1121). Robert Bloet, Bishop of Lincoln (1094), had a -son Simon, whom he made Dean of that Cathedral. Roger of Salisbury (1107) -was married. Robert Lymesey, of Chester (1086-1117), left a daughter -settled with her husband, Noel, on the see lands near Eccleshall; and -Hugh, Dean of Derby in this episcopate, was married. Roger of Lichfield -(1121) was a married man; he put his son Richard into the Archdeaconry of -Coventry, and he was afterwards promoted to the see (1161). Three Bishops -of Durham were married men, viz. Ralph Flambard (1099), Geoffrey Rufus -(1133), and the famous Hugh Puiset (1153); the wife of the latter was a -lady of the Percy family. Several Archbishops of York were the sons of -married clergymen. - -There is an extant letter from Thomas, the first Norman Archbishop of -York, in which he complains that his canons were married men. The Canons -of Durham turned out by Bishop William of S. Carilef (1081) were all -married men, so were some of those turned out of Rochester Cathedral by -Bishop Gundulf; one of them, AEgelric, who had retired to the Benefice of -Chatham, on his wife's death obtained her burial by the monks of the -Cathedral in the most honourable manner (S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 50). - -[253] At a visitation of Lincoln Cathedral by Bishop Bokingham, 1363-1398, -it appeared that almost all the cathedral clergy disobeyed the canons -(S.P.C.K., "Lincoln," p. 84). A statute of the Chapter of Bath and Wells, -in 1323, forbade any canon who had a concubine [wife] before his -appointment to meet her except in the presence of discreet witnesses. So -late as 1520 the Vicar-General had occasion to admonish the dean to -correct one of the canons for keeping a concubine [wife] in his house of -residence. The use of the ugly word by which the canons described these -persons was not indefensible; the old laws of Imperial Rome recognized a -kind of marriage with an inferior wife as respectable, it went so far at -one time as to require unmarried proconsuls to take such a wife with them -to their province, and this was not to prevent them from making afterwards -a legal marriage. For example, St. Helena was first the concubine of -Constantius, and he afterwards raised her to the higher dignity of his -wife, and Constantine, their son, raised her to the dignity of empress. - -[254] In 1221 and the following years, the pope issued mandates to the -English bishops bidding them deprive married clerks ("Papal Letters," vol. -i. pp. 79, 84, 86, 90, Rolls Series). - -[255] See also Roger of Wendover under 1225, ii. 287, Rolls Series. - -[256] This is an allusion to another canon which made it illegal for a man -to separate from his wife in order to enter into a religious order -requiring a vow of celibacy, without his wife's consent. - -[257] One explanation of the frequent repetition of these canons by -successive synods is that in those early days it was not a matter of -course that a law once made stood good until repealed; rather, on the -contrary, that a law lapsed by desuetude, and needed to be re-enacted from -time to time to keep it in vigour. The early kings renewed their -predecessors' concessions; grantees sought the confirmation of charters -from the heir of the original grantor; and laws of Parliament were often -passed again by subsequent Parliaments. So a new archbishop began his -reign by calling the provincial synod together and issuing a set of -provincial constitutions, repeating former canons, which it was still -necessary to keep in active use. - -[258] In the debates of the Twenty-fourth Session of the Council of Trent, -in the autumn of 1563, one patriarch declared that the proposed decree -annulling clandestine marriages was directly opposed to the law of God, -and that he would resist it at the peril of his life (Bishop of Bristol, -"On what are the Papal Claims founded?"--S.P.C.K.). - -[259] Hook's "Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury," vi. 317. - -[260] It is very significant that after the Reformation legislation had -legalized clerical marriages, the wives of the bishops did not openly live -in their palaces with them, but in houses of their own. It was a survival -of the custom that ecclesiastics might have wives, but that their wives -might not be introduced into society. - -[261] "Harl.," 862, p. 221. A more important example is that of Margaret -Countess of Flanders, who married a deacon, and subsequently repudiated -him and married again, with the result of a disputed succession (Matthew -Paris, under 1254 A.D., v. 435, Rolls Series). - -[262] "Transactions of the Gloucester Archaeol. Society," 1893. Paper on -"Newnham," by R. I. Kerr. - -[263] J. Raine, Preface to "Archbishop Gray's Register." - -[264] See other curious instances of it in the "Papal Letters," Rolls -Series, vol. i. pp. 239, 243. - -[265] "Letters of Henry III.," Rolls Series. - -[266] The Bishop of Oxford doubts whether the sons of such marriages after -the twelfth century would be ordained without a dispensation. - -[267] MS. 5824, f. 5. British Museum. - -[268] Pope Clement VI., in 1398, sent to Bishop Grandisson of Exeter at -his request a dispensation for fifty priests and scholars, by name, to -receive holy orders and hold benefices. Thirty are classed as -illegitimate, both parents being single persons; ten as having one parent -a married person; ten as born of presbyters or persons in holy orders -("Grandisson's Register," Hingeston-Randolph, part i. p. 147). - -[269] "Papal Letters," vol. i. p. 113. - -[270] "Register of Archbishop Gray," p. 73. - -[271] "Stapledon's Register," p. 180. - -[272] "Archbishop Gray's Register," J. Raine, p. 29. - -[273] Ibid., p. 153. - -[274] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills." - -[275] Tonsured. - -[276] There are frequent entries in the Episcopal Registers of -dispensations _super defectum natalium_ to the sons of _nativi_ to take -orders and hold benefices. There are several examples in which a bishop -gives such a dispensation to so-and-so "_nativus meus_," to take sacred -orders and hold ecclesiastical benefices; a gracious act of kindness to -one of his own serfs (see p. 130). - -[277] Should feed beggars. - -[278] Usually the bishop, but there were many exceptions. - -[279] Page 63. - -[280] "Labbe's Councils," vol. xxii. p. 234. - -[281] There is a picture of a bishop's visitation in the fourteenth -century MS. Royal 6 E. VI., and a much better of the sixteenth century in -the printed Pontifical, p. 196, and of an archdeacon's in the MS. Royal 6 -E. VI., fols. 132 and 137. - -[282] Procter, "History of the Book of Common Prayer," p. 262. - -[283] I refrain from repeating the unsupported assumption that these -synodsmen gave name to our modern sidesmen, for which there is no -evidence. Moreover, Professor Skeat assures me, in kind reply to a -question on the subject, that the principles which govern the gradual -changes of our language will not admit of the idea of the derivation of -the one word from the other. - -[284] From the "Annales de Burton," p. 307. - -[285] When St. Hugh became Bishop of Lincoln he made several decrees, one -of which was "that no layman have the celebration of masses inflicted on -him as a penance" ("Dioc. Hist. Lincoln," p. 103, S.P.C.K.). It looks as -if the clergy had set up a bad practice of inflicting attendance at Holy -Communion, and making an offering as an ordinary act of penance. It was -prohibited again in 1378 by Archbishop Simon of Sudbury (Johnson, "Laws -and Canons," ii. 444). - -[286] A vulgar game. - -[287] The pope was at this time discouraging the study of civil law by the -clergy (see Collier's "Ecclesiastical History," i. 464). - -[288] The bishop appointed certain priests as confessors of the clergy. - -[289] Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Walter Stapledon," p. -194. - -[290] Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Walter Stapledon," p. -130. - -[291] Ibid., p. 111. - -[292] Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Walter Stapledon," p. -573. - -[293] Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Walter Stapledon," p. -109. - -[294] S.P.C.K., "Dioc. Hist. of Hereford," p. 112. - -[295] Quivil's "Register" (Hingeston-Randolph), p. 337. - -[296] There may be some error, since in the "Taxatio" the annual income of -Bigby is given as L4 6_s._ 8_d._ - -[297] Stapledon's "Register," p. 342. - -[298] S.P.C.K., "Chichester Diocese," p. 104. - -[299] "Dioc. Hist. of Hereford," pp. 113, 114. - -[300] "Papal Letters," i. 59, Rolls Series. - -[301] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 163. - -[302] Whitaker's "Craven," p. 95. - -[303] (Job xix. 21), A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills." - -[304] "Test. Ebor.," p. 73. - -[305] Brown, "Fasc.," ii. 412. - -[306] October, 1441, the parishioners of Ashdown, Kent, complain that -their rector, Lawrence Horwood, does not provide at his own cost, as he -ought to do, a clerk to officiate in the church on holy days. The suit in -the bishop's court on this matter went on for two years, and was left -unsettled. - -[307] This parish clerk occurs in several other of our illustrations of -processions and services. - -[308] V. 171, Rolls Series. - -[309] "Mon. Ang.," iii. 227. - -[310] White Kennett, "Parochial Antiq., Glossary," _sub voc._ - -[311] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 87. - -[312] Ibid., p. 6. - -[313] Robert Aphulley, of Lincoln, 1407, makes a bequest to the Gild of -Clerks at Lincoln, durante dicta gilda, quando recitabitur nomen meum -inter nomina defunctorum, et hanc antiphon "Alma Redemptoris Mater," etc. -(A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 108). - -[314] Curled. - -[315] Spread out. - -[316] Hair. - -[317] Complexion. - -[318] Neatly. - -[319] Watchet, a kind of cloth. - -[320] Small twigs of trees (? May blossom). - -[321] Musical instruments. - -[322] Page 75. - -[323] Elizabeth Darcy, 13 Henry V., in her will, desires to be buried in -the church of the nuns of Heynynges, and leaves to their chapel a great -missal, and her portforium and great psalter to be fastened with an iron -chain. She leaves a book of romances, called "Leschell de Reson," and two -Primers, and a book called "Bybill," and another called "Sainz Ryall," and -another called "Lanselake." CC_s._ for masses, to be kept in a chest in -some secret place in Lincoln Cathedral and distributed to the chaplains -annually (A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 118). After the battle of -Lincoln "Fair," in 1221, the victors "pillaged the churches throughout the -city, breaking open the chests and storerooms with axes and hammers, and -seizing all the gold and silver in them, clothes of all colours, women's -ornaments, gold rings, goblets, and jewels" ("Roger of Wendover," ii. 218, -Rolls Series). - -[324] See instances of it in "Roger of Wendover," ii. 162, 165, and iii. -209, 211, Rolls Series. - -[325] See Erasmus's "Praise of Folly," and an account of the "Sanctuaries -at Durham and Beverley," by Rev. J. Raine (Surtees Society). - -[326] See "Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages," pp. 157-194, by the -present writer. - -[327] Lyndewood's "Pontificale," pp. 298, 156. - -[328] J. C. Cox, in "Curious Church Gleanings," p. 44. - -[329] "York Fabric Rolls," Surtees Society, p. 248. - -[330] Wilkins, "Concilia," ii. 170. - -[331] See articles in the _Churchman's Family Magazine_ for 1865, p. 419. - -[332] S.P.C.K., "Dioc. Hist. of Lincoln." - -[333] Collier, "Eccl. Hist.," i. 438. - -[334] Peckham, for example (see Collier, "Eccl. Hist.," i. 484). - -[335] "Kingston-on-Thames," by A. Heales, p. 25. - -[336] "Dioc. Hist. of Lincoln," p. 150, S.P.C.K. - -[337] Boniface VII., in his decretal, allows a sub-deacon to take a -benefice, and grants him seven years in which to qualify himself for the -orders of deacon and priest, by dispensation or permission of his superior -(Johnson, "Laws and Canons"). - -[338] Bishop Quivil, in 1281, gave a young rector the usual licence of -absence for study, and to put his benefice to farm _salva Canonica -Porcione assignanda per Episcopum pauperibus ejusdem Parochiae prout in -ultimo concilio Lambethensi est statutum_ (Quivil's "Register," p. 321). -See also pp. 32, 35, for donations to the fabric. - -In 1322, the Bishop of Bath and Wells gave this licence to Emericus of -Orchard, and also to Peter Pyke of Kyngeston, on condition that they each -should say one hundred Psalms for the soul of the bishop, and of all the -faithful departed (T. Hugo's "Extracts," vol. i. p. 86). - -In 1312, Master William de Carreu, clerk, instituted to Holsworthy, had -dispensation for non-residence for three years for study, which in 1315 -was renewed for a year, and again in 1316, 1317, and 1318. Master Richard -de Honemanacole, sub-deacon, instituted to Iddesleigh in 1320, had a -dispensation for non-residence for three years for study, which was -renewed in 1323 for a year in foreign parts, and in 1324 renewed again for -two years (Bishop Stapledon's "Register"). - -[339] "Letters of Grostete" (Rolls Series), pp. 63, 68, 151. - -[340] Quivil's "Register," p. 353. - -[341] S.P.C.K., "Diocesan History of Bath and Wells." - -[342] Matthew Paris, under 1251 and 1252 A.D., v. 256, 279. - -[343] Grandisson's "Register," p. 520. - -[344] A.D. 1338, Licence to John Hert, Rector of Croxton, to put his -church to farm for four years, at the instance of Ade. Lymbergh. Leave of -absence for a year to William de Colesbrok, at the instance of Dom. Thom. -de Astele. Leave of absence to Dom. Wells de Gresleygh, Rector of -Hildresham, for two years, at the instance of the Countess Mareschal -("Register of Bishop Grandisson, of Exeter"). - -[345] "Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society," vol. vi. part ii. -(New Series), p. 110. - -[346] "Anglo-Saxons," iii. 297. - -[347] Whitaker's "Craven," p. 164. - -[348] Whitaker's "Whalley," p. 134. - -[349] In the time of Edward I. - -[350] A ground plan and elevations of some of the buildings of the palace -and deanery are engraved in the Lincoln Volume of the Archaeol. Institute, -1848 A.D. - -[351] The vicars of the residentiaries lived at first in the residence -houses in something like the capacity of chaplains ("The Cathedral," E. W. -Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury). Ralph of Shrewsbury, 1329-1361, -incorporated them at Wells. - -[352] Benson's (Archbishop of Canterbury) "The Cathedral," p. 35. - -[353] Octagonal at York, Salisbury, Wells; decagonal at Old St. Paul's, -Hereford, Lichfield, and here at Lincoln. - -[354] Benson, "The Cathedral," p. 19. - -[355] An example of a married canon. - -[356] Benson, "The Cathedral," p. 12. - -[357] Benson, "The Cathedral," p. 27. - -[358] There is a portrait of Bishop Longland, at the beginning of a -Benedictional written for him, in the Add. MS. 21974, in the British -Museum Library. - -[359] In the "Taxatio" of Pope Nicholas IV., A.D. 1291, p. 76, the goods -spiritual and temporal of the bishop everywhere in the Diocese of Lincoln -are returned at the round sum of L1000. - -[360] J. Talbot was Prebendary of Cliffeton, Notts, worth L20, and had L6 -13_s._ 4_d._ from the dean and chapter to find a cantarist for the chantry -of Queen Eleanor at Harby, in the parish of Clifton, Notts. S. Grene or -Foderby was Prebendary of Bedford Minor, worth L3 10_s._ 9_d._ - -[361] Probably a worker in _laton_, an alloy of brass. - -[362] "Pulsan'ad organ;" it could not be the organ blower, for his stipend -was twice as much as that of the carpenter and lathonius. - -[363] They consisted of the impropriation of five parochial benefices. - -[364] He was a very forward man in defacing the shrines of this church and -delivering up the treasure thereof into King Henry VIII.'s hands (Willis's -"Survey of Cathedrals"). - -[365] "Valor Eccl.," vol. iv. p. 198. - -[366] Ibid., p. 43. - -[367] Ibid., p. 88. - -[368] Ibid., p. 124. - -[369] Ibid., p. 166. - -[370] Ibid., p. 78. - -[371] Ibid., p. 138. - -[372] Ibid., p. 344. - -[373] Ibid., p. 107. - -[374] Ibid., p. 88. - -[375] Ibid., p. 127. - -[376] Ibid., p. 64. - -[377] "Valor Eccl.," vol. iv. p. 20. - -[378] 1 Chron. ii. 5. - -[379] There might be--often were--canons who had no prebends; that is the -condition to which the too-sweeping reforms of recent times have reduced -the great majority of the canons of all our cathedrals. - -[380] Benson, "The Cathedral." - -[381] See two canons in their tippets, in Tib. E. VII. f. 27, v., an -English MS. of the latter half of the fifteenth century. - -[382] "P'comunis et vinis" ("Valor," iv. pp. 8_b_ and 22). - -[383] See p. 362. - -[384] The archdeaconries of this diocese (except that of Oxford) had no -endowment; their income was derived from fees, etc. - -[385] Dr. Foxe's Christian name is not given. A Matthew Foxe was rector of -Hardwyk, L6 17_s._ 5_d._; a John Fox was vicar of East Haddon, L15; and a -Thomas Fox, vicar of Lewesden, L6 17_s._ 4_d._ - -[386] ? founder of a Chantry, L5 6_s._ 8_d._, at Leighton Bromeswold -Church (see "Valor," vol. iv. p. 258). - -[387] Up to the fifteenth century, at least, part of the cathedral nave -was used as the parish church of St. Peter; at a later period, probably -after Henry VIII., the north transept was used for that purpose, and so -continued until 1853, when the present parish church was built. - -[388] "Taxatio of Pope Nicholas," p. 138_b_. - -[389] Among the items are the rent received from the Society of Lincoln's -Inn for their Inn, L6 13_s._ 4_d._; and the rent of certain tenements in -Chancery Lane (which are still called the Chichester Rents), L2 13_s._ -4_d._ - -[390] "Valor," vol. i. p. 308. - -[391] Ibid., p. 318. - -[392] Ibid., p. 340. - -[393] Ibid., p. 346. - -[394] Ibid., vol. iv. p. 19. - -[395] Ibid., p. 19_b_. - -[396] Ibid., vol. i. p. 301. - -[397] Ibid., p. 185. - -[398] "Valor," vol. i. p. 301. - -[399] Ibid., p. 333. - -[400] Ibid., p. 301. - -[401] Ibid., p. 324. - -[402] Ibid., p. 317. - -[403] Ibid., p. 300. - -[404] Ibid., p. 345. - -[405] An antiphon was sung nightly before St. Mary's image by the junior -vicar after evensong (1459-63). The shrine of St. Richard stood as usual -at the back of the high altar; a harper used to play and sing the praises -of the saint (Rev. T. Hugo). - -[406] Rev. Mackenzie Walcott, _Building News_, May 15, 1874. - -[407] The permanent relation between a religious house and its founder is -illustrated in the case of Boxgrove Cluniac Priory, Sussex. The founder, -in 1120, Robert de Hara, stipulated [for himself and his descendants, we -take for granted] that he should choose one of the monks to officiate in -the chapel at his neighbouring manor house of Halnaker; and that if at any -time the monks should fail to elect to a vacancy in the office of prior -within three months, he should nominate. - -The prioress and nuns of Mount Grace, c. 1250, bound themselves to present -each successive Prioress for approval to John le Verdun, their patron -(_advocato nostro_), and his heirs or their deputies ("Eccl. Documents," -p. 66, Camden Society. See also Cartnell Priory, "Papal Letters," vol. i. -p. 135, Rolls Series). - -[408] See the case of two of the Prebendaries of Lincoln, named at p. 343; -and of two parish priests, at pp. 286 and 294. - -[409] Matthew of Westminster says the Franciscans dwelt "in bodies of ten -or seven;" but Chaucer seems to intimate that the usual number of friars -in each house was thirteen-- - - And bring me then twelve friars, will ye why? - For thirtene is a convent as I wis. - "Sompnour's Tale." - -[410] Wert thou not. - -[411] Health and strength. - -[412] Seal. - -[413] Neander's "Church History," vii. 403 and 399. - -[414] Lynwoode's "Provinciale," p. 133. - -[415] _e.g._ the valuation, in the "Valor Ecclesiasticus," of the -Carmelites of Lynn is a clear income of 35_s._ 8_d._; of the Dominicans, -18_s._; of the Austin Friars, 24_s._ 6_d._ ("Valor Eccl.," iii. 397, 398). -At Northampton the rent fetched by the whole friary, with the friar's -house and garden, is L10 10_s._; of the Franciscans, L6 17_s._ 4_d._; of -the Dominicans, L5 7_s._ 10_d._ ("Valor Eccl.," v. 318). - -[416] Except the _trinoda necessitas_. - -[417] As a consequence of the Scottish Wars, the northern province was so -harried and impoverished that the clergy were unable to pay the tenths -demanded, and a new taxation of part of the Province was made in 1318. - -[418] St. Botolph, Colchester. - -[419] See Appendix II. - -[420] The Bishop of Oxford says the whole number of parish churches in the -Middle Ages was not much over 8000 ("Const. Hist.," iii. p. 396). There -have been very erroneous estimates current. The Parliament of 1371 granted -to the king a sum of L50,000, to be raised by contribution of 22_s._ 3_d._ -from each parish, there being, according to the common opinion, 40,000 -parishes in England. On this the Bishop of Oxford makes a note ("Const. -Hist.," ii. 459) that it is an illustration of the absolute -untrustworthiness of mediaeval figures, which, even when most -circumstantially minute, cannot be accepted, except where as in the public -accounts vouchers can be quoted. The returns to a writ issued by the king -to the local authorities of each shire to certify the number of parishes -in it, showed that there were only 8669. Stow, in his "Annals," p. 268, -gives the returns _in extenso_. The anonymous author of the famous libel, -"A Supplication for Beggars," says there are within the realm of England -52,000 parish churches. Maskell, in his "Monumenta Ritualia," I. ccij, -mentions several MSS. in the British Museum which contain memoranda on the -subject, Royal 8 B xv., Royal 8 D iv., Titus D 3. In the first, in a -fifteenth-century handwriting, is a note _sunt in Regno Angliae Ecclesiae -parochiales_, 46,100. - -[421] In 1371 the smaller benefices and chantries were taxed by the king -(Stowe, "Annales," p. 268). - -[422] The following are the details for the several dioceses (except -Durham and Chester):-- - - Diocese. Beneficed. Unbeneficed. - Lincoln--Archdeaconry of Lincoln, Stow, - Leicester, and Rutland 2,001 1,660 - Lincoln--Archdeaconry of Northampton, Hunts, - Bucks, Oxon, and Bedford 1,522 1,313 - Canterbury 599 495 - Bath and Wells--Archdeaconry of Bath 119 82 - Bath and Wells--Archdeaconry of Taunton 139 72 - Bath and Wells--Archdeaconry of Wells 335 336 - Salisbury--Archdeaconry of Berks and Wilts 461 246 - Salisbury--Archdeaconry of Dorchester and Sarum 734 467 - Exeter--County of Devon 559 756 - Exeter--County of Cornwall 199 487 - Ely 358 658 - Chichester 473 168 - London--Archdeaconry of London 336 427 - London--Archdeaconry of Essex, Middlesex, and - Colchester 268 241 - London--"et predicti Coll." 531 526 - Rochester--In the City and Diocese of Rochester 157 54 - Rochester--In the Deanery of Iselham 4 9 - Jurisdiction of St. Alban 106 50 - Winchester--Archdeaconry of Winton 616 305 - Winchester--Archdeaconry of Surrey 218 -- - Winchester--In Arch. predicti -- 152 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Coventry 272 241 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Stafford 180 321 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Derby 175 281 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Cestr 162 336 - Coventry and Lichfield--Archdeaconry of Salop 106 -- - Worcester--Archdeaconry of Wigan 425 425 - Worcester--Archdeaconry of Gloucester 414 409 - York 1,790 1,481 - Carlisle 135 97 - Norwich 1,844 1,848 - ------ ------ - 15,238 13,943 - -[423] The preface to the "Valor," when it was printed by the Record -Office, says, "We have here presented before us in one grand conspectus -the whole ecclesiastical establishment of England and Wales, as it had -been built up in successive centuries, and when it was carried to its -greatest height.... So that we at once see not only the ancient extent and -amount of that provision which was made by the piety of the English nation -for the spiritual edification of the people, by the erection of churches -and chapels for the decent performance of the simple and touching -ordinances of the Christian religion; but how large a proportion had been -saved from private appropriation of the produce of the soil, and how much -had been subsequently given, to form a public fund accessible to all, out -of which might be supported an order of cultivated and more enlightened -men dispersed through society, and by means of which blessings -incalculable might be spread amongst the whole community. If there were -spots of extravagances, yet on the whole it is a pleasing as well as a -splendid spectacle, especially if we look with minute observation into any -portion of the Record, and compare it with a map which shows the -distribution of population in those times over the island, and then -observe how religion had pursued men even to his remotest abodes, and was -present among the most rugged dwellers in the hills and wildernesses of -the land, softening and humanizing their hearts." - -[424] - - Rectories. Vicarages. Chapels. Chantries. - Canterbury 225 108 13 23 - Rochester 128 56 10 13 - Bath and Wells 368 126 33 53 - Chichester 279 124 13 39 - London 731 201 31 310 - Winchester 289 95 21 14 - Sarum 540 182 68 72 - Oxford 167 64 8 10 - Lincoln 1,310 492 30 213 - Peterboro 355 92 10 30 - Exeter 524 185 43 36 - Gloucester 246 106 35 30 - Hereford 152 84 27 57 - Coventry and Lichfield 466 207 29 106 - Chester 197 78 5 127 - Worcester 133 47 17 31 - Norwich 1,103 276 31 60 - Ely 157 80 11 29 - Llandaff 143 61 22 12 - St. David's 288 120 10 3 - Bangor 110 27 45 4 - St. Asaph 157 83 4 0 - York 581 305 19 424 - Carlisle 75 38 0 19 - Durham 114 70 1 18 - ------ ------ ---- ------ - 8,838 3,307 536 1,733 - -[425] "Constitutional History," iii. 366. - -[426] In the Easter account-book. - -[427] "Valor," v. 32, 263, etc. - -[428] "Valor," v. 35. - -[429] Ibid., p. 61. - -[430] Ibid., p. 75. - -[431] Ecclia de Donecaster divisa est pars que fuit Hugonis p't' pens' in -eadem, L43 6_s._ 8_d._; pens' Abbis Be Marie Ebor. in eadem, L5; pars -Rogers' in eadem p't' pens', L40; pens' Abbis Be Marie Ebor. in eadem, L5 -("Taxatio," p. 299). - -[432] "Valor," v. 45. - -[433] Ibid., p. 157. - -[434] The chrisom was the linen cloth, or garment, which the priest put on -the recently baptized child. It was to be offered by the mother when she -came to be churched. It might be used again at baptism, or for other -church purposes, or it might be converted into ornaments for the good of -the church, but not turned to any profane use ("Constitutions of St. -Edmund of Canterbury," 1234). - -In the Visitation of Churches in the patronage of St. Paul's (1249-1252, -p. xii.), fifty-six panni chrismales are said to be at Tillingham church, -and at Pelham Furneaux several chrisoms were used as _manutergia_--napkins -for wiping the hands at mass. - -[435] "Valor," iii. 45. - -[436] "Valor Eccl.," iii. 45. - -[437] Ibid., iii. p. 38. - -[438] Ibid., v. p. 189. - -[439] Denar' Missaribz et candel' oblat'. Porcione panis bndict' diebus -dni oblat' (see p. 236). - -[440] Ibid., v. 157. - -[441] For sending his _locum tenens_ to the synods and processions? -("Valor Eccl.," i. p. 67). - -[442] "History of Agriculture and Prices in England," J. E. T. Rogers. - -[443] "Annals of St. Paul's Cathedral," p. 145. - -[444] Matthew of Westminster, under the year 1249, says of a number of men -in the country about Southampton, that they were of such rank that they -were considered equal to knights, and that their estates were valued at -L40, L50, or L80 a year (Rolls Series, ii. 360). - -[445] Ibid., under year 1253, ii. 383. - -[446] Agobarth, Archbishop of Lyons, c. 833, complains that there is -scarcely one to be found who aspires to any degree of honour and temporal -distinction who has not his domestic priests; and that these chaplains are -constantly to be found serving tables, mixing the strained wine, leading -out the dogs, managing ladies' horses, or looking after the lands. - -[447] Lib. ix. ep. lxx. (Migne 77, p. 100). - -[448] Thorpe's "Select Charters," pp. 521 and 511. - -[449] Under the year 1067. - -[450] In Ludlow Castle, the great chapel in the court was built soon after -the Temple Church in London, and, like it, with a circular nave and -aisles, and projecting choir. - -[451] A chapel at Charney, Berks, of the latter part of the thirteenth -century, is described and engraved in the "Archaeological Journal" for -1848, p. 311. - -[452] These castle chapels were usually dedicated to some saint; as -Windsor to St. George, the Tower to St. Peter, Oxford to St. George, -Tattershall to St. Nicholas, Toryton to St. James, Barnard Castle to the -Twelve Apostles, Alnwick to the Twelve Apostles, etc. - -[453] "Archaeologiae," xxv. pp. 320, 323. - -[454] Chapel of the Earl of Northumberland-- - -First, a preist, a doctor of divinity, a doctor of law, or a bachelor of -divinitie, to be dean of my lord's chapel. - -It. A preist for to be surveyour of my lorde's lands. - -It. A preist for to be secretary to my lorde. - -It. A preist for to be amner (almoner) to my lorde. - -It. A preist for to be sub-dean for ordering and keaping the quoir in my -lorde's chapell daily. - -It. A preist for riding chaplein for my lorde. - -It. A preist for a chaplein to my lorde's eldest son, to wait uppon him -daily. - -It. A preist for my lorde's clerk of the closet. - -It. A preist for a maister of gramer in my lorde's house. - -It. A preist for reading the Gospel in the chapel daily. - -It. A preist for singing of our Ladie's Mass in the chapell daily. - -The number of these persons as chapleins and priests in household are xi. - -The gentlemen and children of my lord's chappell which be not appointed to -attend at no time but only in exercising of Godde's service in the chapell -daily at Matteins, Lady-Mass, Highe-Mass, Evensong, and Compeynge:-- - -First, a bass. - -It. A second bass. - - A maister of the childer, or counter-tenor. - - Second and third counter-tenor. - - A standing tenor. - - A second, third, and fourth standing tenor. - -The number of these persons as gentlemen of my lorde's chappell xi. - -Children of my lorde's chappell-- - -Three trebles and three second trebles, in all vi. - - * * * * * - -A memorandum of all the offerings of my lorde and my lady and my lorde's -children customably used yearly at principall feasts, and other offeringe -dayes of the yere-- - -Furst. My lorde's offeringe accustomede upon All hallow-Day yerely, when -his lordshippe is at home at the Highe Mass, if he kepe Chapell, xij_d._ - -Item. My lade's offerringe accustomede upon All hallowe-Day yerely, if she -offer at the Highe Masse, if my lorde kepe chapell, to be paid out of my -lord's coffures, if she be at my lorde's fyndinge and not at her owen, -viij. - -And, not to repeat the formal verbiage in every entry-- - -On Xmasday my lord gave xij, and my lady viij. - -On St. Stephen's Day, when his lordeshipp is at home, a groit to bow at a -Low Mass in his closet. - -On New-Yers-Day, my lord, if he be at home and keep chapel, offers xij, -and my lady viij. - -On Twelfth Day my lord offers xij, and my lady viij. - -On Candilmas-Day to be sett in his lordschippe's candil to offer at the -High Mass v groits for the v Joyes of our lady xx_d._, and my lady xij. -And my lord useth and accustomyth yerely upon Candilmas-Day to caus to be -delyveride for the offeringe of my lords son and heire the lorde Percy to -be sett in his candil ij, and for every one of my yonge masters, my lords -yonge sonnes to be sett in the candils affore the offeringe j for aither -of them, iiij. On St. Blaye's Day to be sett in his lordsshippe candil to -offer at Hye Mass, if his lordschyp kepe chapell iiij_d._, and my lady -iiij, and my lorde sone and heire j, and my lords yonger sonnes j for -every of them. Upon Goode-Friday when his lorschippe crepeth the cros, -iiij, my lady iiij, and my lord Percy ij, and my yonge masters, when they -crepe the cross, j. - -On Easter Even, when his lordshipp taketh his rights, iiij, and my lady, -when her ladischipe taketh her rights, iiij, and his lordschippe's -children that be of aige to take their rights, ij, to every of them. And -my lord useth yerely to caus to be delyvrede to every of his lordschippe's -wardes or Hausmen, or anny other yonge gentilmen that be at his -lordschippe's fynding, and be of aige to take their rights after ij, to -every such person. - -On Easter day, in the mornynge, when my lord crepeth to the cross after -the Resurreccion iiij, and my lady iiij, and the lord Percy, and my yonge -masters every of them j. - -On Easter day at High Mass my lord offers xjj, my lady viij, and his -children each j. - -On St. George's Day, when my lord is at home, and kepith St. George's -Feast, x_d._ - -My lorde's offeringe accustomed at the Mas of Requiem, upon the morrow -after Seyne George-Day, when his lordschip is at home, and kepith Sayn -George Feast, which is accustomed yerely to be don for the soulles of all -the knightes of the Order of the Garter departede to the mercy of God, -iiij. - -My lord useth when he is at home, and kepith Dergen over night, and Mas of -Requiem upon the morrowe of my lord his Father xij month mynde, to offer -at the Mas of Requiem iiij, and his sons, every of them, at the Mas of -Requiem done for my lord's father xij month mynde j. - -On Ascension Day my lord offers xij, my lady viij. - -On Whitsonday xjj, my lady viij, and his children j. - -On Trinity Sonday xij, my lady viij. - -On Mychaelmas iiij, for his lordschipe offeringe to the Holy Blode of -Hailles (Hales) iiij; for his offeringe to our Lady of Walsyngeham iij; to -Sayne Margarets, Lyncolinschire iiij. - -My lord useth yerely to sende for the upholding of the light of waxe, -which his lordschip fynds byrnynge yerely before the Holy Blode of -Hailles, containing xvj lb. of wax in it after vij_d._, ob. for the -fyndynge of every lb.; if redy wrought by a covenant maide by gret with -the monk for the hole yere for fynding of the saide light byrnying x_s._ - -The same for a light at Walsingham vj_s._, viii_d._, and at St. Margaret's -x. And for a light to burne before our Lady in the Whitefrers of Doncaster -of my lord's foundation at mas-tyme daily xiij_s._ iiij_d._ - -Presents at Xmas to Barne Bishop [the Boy Bishop?] of Beverley and York, -when he comes, as he is accustomed, yearly. - -Rewards to the children of his chapell when they do sing the responde -called _Exaudivi_ at the mattynstime for xi in vespers upon Allhallow Day, -6_s._ 8_d._ - -On St. Nicholas Eve, 6_s._ 8_d._ - -To them of his lordshipe's chappell if they doe play the play of the -Nativitie upon Xmas Day in the mornynge in my lorde's chappell before his -lordship xx_s._ - -For singing _Gloria in Excelsis_ at the mattens time upon Xmas Day in the -mornyng. - -To the Abbot of Miserewle [Misrule] on Xmas (?) - -To the yeoman or groom of the vestry for bringing him the hallowed taper -on Candlemas Day? - -To his lordship's chaplains and other servts. that play the play before -his lordship on Shrofetewsday at night xx_s._ - -That play the play of Resurrection upon Estur Daye in the mg. in y lorde's -chappell before his lordship. - -To the yeoman or groom of the vestry on Allhallows Day for syngnge for all -christynne soles the saide nygthe so it be past mydnight 3_s._ 4_d._ - - * * * * * - -The Earl and Lady were brother and sister of St. Christopher Gilde Yorke, -and pd. 6_s._ 8_d._ each yearly; and when the Master of the Gild brought -my lord and my lady for their lyverays a yard of narrow violette clothe -and a yard of narrow rayed cloth, 13_s._ 4_d._ (_i.e._ a yard of each to -each). - -And to Proctor of St. Robert's, Knasbruge, when my lorde and my lady were -brother and sister, 6_s._ 8_d._ each. - - * * * * * - -At pp. 272-278 is an elaborate programme of the ordering of my lord's -chapel for the various services. - -At p. 292 is an order about the washing of the linen of the chapel for a -year. Eighteen surplices for men, and six for children, and seven albes, -and five altar cloths for covering of the altars, sixteen times a year -against the great feasts. - -At p. 285 is an order that the vestry stuff shall have at every removal -[for it was carried about from one to another of my lord's houses] one -cart for the carrying of the nine antiphoners, the four grailles, the -hangings of the three altars in my lord's closet and my ladie's, and the -sort [suit] of vestments and single vestments and copes "accopeed" daily, -and all other my lord's chappell stuff to be sent afore my lord's chariot -before his lordship remove ("Antiq. Repertory," iv. 242). - -[455] Whose emoluments at the beginning of the sixteenth century are all -given in the "Valor" of Henry VIII., vol. ii. p. 317. - -[456] "Valor," ii. p. 153. - -[457] "Taxatio," p. 298. - -[458] Where there was a single chaplain, he probably always had a boy who -"served" him at mass, and also acted as his personal attendant. - -[459] Whitaker's "Craven." - -[460] "Taxatio," p. 18. - -[461] Page's "Yorkshire Chantries." - -[462] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 6. - -[463] "Valor Eccl.," ii. 403. - -[464] An oratory differs from a church; a church is appointed for public -worship, and has an endowment for the minister and others; an oratory is -not built for saying mass, nor endowed, but ordained for a family to -perform its household worship in. A bell might not be put up in an -oratory, because it was not a place of public worship. - -[465] The exemption from the jurisdiction of the ordinary of royal chapels -is recognized by a bull of Innocent IV. ("Annales de Burton," p. 275). - -[466] Grostete summoned Earl Warren and his chaplain for having Divine -service celebrated in his hall at Grantham, being an unconsecrated place -("Letters of Grostete," Rolls Series, p. 171). - -[467] Eyton's "Shropshire," ix. 326. - -[468] There are similar conditions in a licence in 1310, to Dame Matilda -de Hywys for her chapel of Tremetherecke, in the parish of Duloc (Register -of Bishop Stapledon of Exeter, "Hingeston-Randolph," p. 300). - -[469] Newcourt's "Repertorium," ii. 434. - -[470] See "Description of the Vyne," by the late Mr. Chute, the -proprietor. - -[471] The clerk whose duty it was to keep the bishop's register sometimes -grew weary of writing the so-frequent record in full, and simply noted -that licence was granted to so-and-so, _in forma communi_, or _in forma -consueta_ ("Grandisson's Register," pp. 492, 509, etc.). - -[472] Canon Hingeston-Randolph's "Register of Edmund Stafford," p. 271. - -[473] Edit. J. Raine, p. 58. - -[474] Edit. J. Raine, p. 271. - -[475] "Register of Bath and Wells" (Rev. T. Hugo's "Extracts"), p. 158. -There are other instances, at Maystoke, Hoddesdon, Atthorpe, in the "Papal -Letters," vol. i. pp. 192, 522. - -[476] Edited by Mr. George Nichols for the Camden Society. - -[477] "Sussex Archaeol. Coll.," iii. 112. - -[478] G. Offor, "Life of Tyndale." - -[479] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 136. - -[480] "Richmondshire Wills," p. 34. - -[481] "Test. Ebor.," p. 220. - -[482] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 57. - -[483] Ibid., p. 111. - -[484] "Lichfield," p. 168, S.P.C.K. - -[485] "Eccl. Proceedings of Courts of Durham," p. 44. - -[486] "Register" of Bishop Gray of Lincoln. - -[487] In 1348 the Convent of St. Augustine, Canterbury, and in 1365 the -Convent of Westminster, petitioned the pope to have Divine offices -celebrated in the chapels of their manors and churches, _i.e._ rectories -("Papal Letters," vol. i. pp. 139, 506). - -[488] "Hingeston-Randolph," p. 319. - -[489] Ibid., p. 378. - -[490] Walcott's "Chichester Registers." - -[491] Alternate vertical stripes of white and red (?). - -[492] "Fifty Earliest English Wills," etc., E. E. Text S., p. 5. - -[493] The longest time allowed for saying a mass is an hour; those who say -it in less than half an hour are reproved (J. H. Dickenson, "The Sarum -Missal"). - -[494] Mallory's "History of Prince Arthur." - -[495] "Autobiography of Anne Murray," in the time of James I. (Camden -Society). - -[496] In Saxon times the priest and brethren of Bath admitted Saewi and -Theodgefu his wife to brotherhood and bedroedenne (prayer) for life and -death (Thorpe's "Diplomatarium," p. 436). Gilbert Tyson, _temp._ William -I. or II., gave land to Selby "for the soul of my lord King William, and -for my soul and the souls of my wife and children, ... on condition that I -be _plenarius frater_ in the said church." Sir Roger Tromyn and Dame Joan -his wife were admitted, in 1307, to share in the prayers of the Abbey of -Wymore, and to have their obsequies celebrated when they deceased as for a -brother of the house ("Eccl. Documents," Camden Society, pp. 49, 72). - -[497] Osborn, Abbot of St. Evroult (1063), instituted an anniversary, on -the 26th June, for the fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters of all the -monks of St. Evroult. The names of all the brethren were registered in a -long roll when professed. This roll was kept near the altar throughout the -year, and an especial commemoration was made before God of the persons -inscribed, when the priest says in celebrating mass, "Animas famulorum -famularum que tuorum," etc. "Vouchsafe to join to the society of Thine -elect, the souls of Thy servants, both men and women, whose names are -written in the roll presented before Thy holy altar." At the anniversary, -on 26th June, the roll of the deceased was spread open on the altar, and -prayers were offered, first for the dead and afterwards for living -relations and benefactors and all the faithful in Christ ("Orderic -Vitalis," i. 447). - -William de Ros, clerk of Bayeux, gave L40 sterling to the monks of St. -Evroult.... His name was inscribed in the register by the monks of St. -Evroult for the many benefits he conferred on the abbey, and masses, -prayers, and alms were appointed for him as if he had been a brother there -professed (i. 269). - -Some of the monks of St. Evroult contributed largely to the monastery, and -procured from their relations, acquaintances, and friends donations of -tithes and churches, and ecclesiastical ornaments for the use of the -brethren. - -[498] Surtees Society, the "Liber Vitae of Durham." - -[499] There were, in fact, a few others; _e.g._ the Domestic Chapel at the -Vyne, Hampshire, had been founded as a chantry. - -[500] In Yorkshire, less than a dozen are recorded before the fourteenth -century, about a quarter of the whole number were founded between 1300 and -1350, the greatest number from 1450 to 1500 (Page's "Yorkshire Chantries," -Surtees Society). - -[501] If groups of united chantries be reckoned as one, or 53 if each be -counted separately; served by 52 priests, with an average income of L7 -9_s._ 6_d._ The chantry priests lived in a mansion founded for them called -Priest's House, or in the chambers of their respective chantries ("St. -Paul's and Old City Life," p. 100, W. S. Simpson). - -[502] For another example of a foundation deed of a chantry, see that of -Thomas, Earl of Derby (p. 469), in Blackburn parish church, 1514 -(Whitaker's "Whalley," ii. 322) - -[503] Dan John Raventhorpe leaves a wooden side altar with a cupboard -beneath the said altar (almariolum subtus idem altare) to keep the books -and vestments. So also in the will of Richard Russell, citizen of York, -1435 ("Test. Ebor.," ii. 53). - -[504] Wodderspoon, "Memorials of Ipswich," p. 352. - -[505] Chantry Certificates, Co. York, Roll 70, No. 6. - -[506] "York Fabric Rolls," p. 87. - -[507] "Register" of Bishop Buckingham, p. 282. - -[508] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 91. - -[509] S.P.C.K., "Diocese of Lichfield," p. 161. So at the Free Chapel at -Kingston (see p. 125). - -[510] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 29. - -[511] Ibid., p. 60. - -[512] Ibid., p. 150. - -[513] Newcourt's "Repertorium." - -[514] "Diocesan Hist. of Hereford," S.P.C.K. - -[515] "Lichfield Diocese," p. 115, S.P.C.K. - -[516] Here are a few examples from Lincoln Diocese only, within fifty -years. William Aghton, Archdeacon of Bedford, 1422, left a bequest for -masses for his soul. Richard of Ravenser, Archdeacon of Lincoln, 1385, -leaves 2_s._ to every nun of the Order of Sempringham and every anchorite -or recluse in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, and numerous other bequests to -religious houses, besides a manor and certain tenements to be sold in aid -of a chaplain of the vicars [choral] of Lincoln, to celebrate at St. -Giles's Without, Lincoln, for him, etc. William Wintringham, Canon of -Lincoln, 1415, left 200 marks for mortuary masses. Richard Croxton, Canon -of Lincoln, 1383, left L50 for masses for ten years. John of Haddon, Canon -of Lincoln, 1374, left L21 to find two chaplains for two years. Robert of -Austhorpe, Doctor of Laws and Licentiate in Arts, 1372, left 20_s._ for -masses. Stephen of Hoghton, Rector of the Mediety of Lesyngham, 1390, left -20_s._ and two books to the Prior and Convent of Nocton for a perpetual -anniversary. Robert of Lottryngton, Rector of Gosberkyrk, 1391, left L10 -and his portiforium and psalterium to his church, and a bequest for two -chaplains to celebrate for him for a year. Richard Morys, Rector of -Bryngton, 1396, leaves L4 to Mr. William Ynflet, to celebrate for him (A. -Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills"). - -[517] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 158. - -[518] There are chantry chapels in two stories at Hereford and Gloucester -Cathedrals, and Tewkesbury, and two at East Horndon, Essex. - -[519] A. Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 201. - -[520] Baines's "Manchester" (Harland's edition), p. 45. - -[521] "Test. Ebor.," iv. 121. - -[522] See calendar of perpetual obits in St. Paul's Cathedral in appendix -to Milman's "Annals of St. Paul's." - -[523] In the "Sarum Manual" the rules which follow death began with a -_Commendatio Animarum_ [Exequiis] consisting of psalms and prayers for the -dead. The body was then washed and laid on a bier; vespers for the day -were said, followed by the _Vigiliae Mortuorum_, divided into several -parts, the special vespers and special matins known from their respective -antiphons as the _Placebo_ and _Dirige_. The body was then carried in -procession to church. There the _Missa Mortuorum_ was said, and after it -came the _Inhumatio defuncti_. - -[524] See p. 348. - -[525] Hingeston-Randolph, "Stafford's Register," p. 399. - -[526] Wodderspoon, "Ipswich," p. 392. - -[527] Ibid., p. 399. - -[528] It was a very humble imitation of the primitive custom of giving a -funeral feast. - -[529] Ibid., p. 393. - -[530] "Essex Arch. Trans.," vol. i. part iii. p. 150 (New Series). - -[531] "Diocese of Bath and Wells," p. 136, S.P.C.K. - -[532] "Diocesan Histories, Lincoln," p. 81, S.P.C.K. - -[533] Ibid., p. 197. - -[534] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 209. - -[535] "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 164. - -[536] Ibid., p. 107. - -[537] Ibid., p. 158. - -[538] Gibbons, "Early Lincoln Wills," p. 185. - -[539] Ibid., p. 210. - -[540] Hamo, Bishop of Rochester, in 1341 endowed a chantry for himself in -the cathedral, the prior and convent engaging to give the chantry priest -lodging and the food of a monk and 24_s._ yearly. - -[541] Archbishop Sudbury, 1378, ordered Annuellers to be content with 7 -marks, and others who serve cure of souls with 8 marks, or diet and 4 -marks. - -[542] This is the same year as the statute quoted above; and is clearly -the ecclesiastical counterpart of that civic legislation. - -[543] The Black Death, in 1348. - -[544] In 1391, the dean and chapter made a regulation that henceforth no -beneficed person should hold a chantry in St. Paul's excepting their own -minor canons. - -[545] In 1323, J. de Taunton, priest and vicar in the Church of Wells, was -collated by the Bishop to "annuate" in the Church of St. Mary, Wells, to -celebrate for the soul of F. de Bullen (?) and all faithful souls (Rev. T. -Hugo's "Extracts," p. 88). In the register of Montacute, Bishop of Ely, -1337, licence was given to Mr. Nicho. de Canterbury, _stare in obsequiis_ -of J. de Polleyne for two years, and this at the instance of Dnus. John de -Polleyne. The same year licence was given to Dnus. Richard Rupel, Rector -of the Church of Carlton _quod possit stare in obsequiis_ of Dni. Paris -Lewen for two years. - -[546] The chantry priests of London, having been summoned by the bishop in -1532, and desired to contribute towards the L100,000 demanded by King -Henry VIII. of the clergy, made such a stir that the bishop dismissed them -for the time, and afterwards had some arrested and imprisoned (Stow's -"Chronicle," p. 559). - -[547] Enough. - -[548] Also at Bromley. See Whitaker's "Whalley." - -[549] Page's "Yorkshire Chantries." - -[550] "Lay Folks' Mass Book." - -[551] "York Fabric Rolls." - -[552] In the "Calendar of Chantries" there are forty-two such schools -recorded. - -[553] Whitaker's "History of Whalley," ii. 322. - -[554] Whitaker, "Craven," p. 147. - -[555] Ibid., p. 326. - -[556] Whitaker, "Whalley," p. 326. - -[557] Whitaker, "Whalley," p. 155. - -[558] Whitaker, "Craven," p. 438. - -[559] For example, the chantry chapel of Billericay, Essex, continued in -this condition until Bishop Blomfield induced the trustees to surrender -the chapel and the right of presentation to it to the bishop, on condition -of a stipend of L120 being settled upon it from Queen Anne's Bounty Fund. - -[560] The rule of the Ludlow Gild was that, "if any of the brethren or -sisters be brought to such want that they have not enough to live upon, -then, once, twice, thrice, but not a fourth time, as much help shall be -given them, out of the goods of the gild, as the rectors and stewards, -having regard to their deserts, and to the means of the gild, shall -order.... If any brother or sister be wrongfully cast into prison, the -gild shall do its utmost, and spend money, to get him out.... If any fall -into grievous sickness, they shall be helped, both as to their bodily -needs and other wants, out of the common fund of the gild, until their -health is renewed as before. If any one becomes a leper, or blind, or -maimed, or smitten with any incurable disorder (which God forbid), we will -that the goods of the gild shall be largely bestowed on him.... If any -good girl of the gild cannot have the means found her by her father, -either to go into a religious house or to marry, whichever she wishes to -do, friendly and right help shall be given her out of our means, and our -common chest, towards enabling her do whichever of the two she wishes." -The rules of one of the gilds in Hull enact that "inasmuch as the gild was -founded to cherish kindness and love, the alderman, steward, and two -helpmen in case of a quarrel between two members shall deal with the -matter, and shall earnestly strive to make them agree together without any -suit or delay, and so that no damage either to body or goods shall in any -wise happen through the quarrel." If the officials neglect to interpose -their good offices, they are fined four pounds of wax among them; and if -the disputants will not listen to them, they shall pay four pounds of wax; -and, finally, all the members of the gild shall be summoned to meet, and -the difficulty shall be referred to them for settlement. - -[561] By the rules of the Lancaster Gild, "on the death of a member of the -gild all the brethren then in the town shall come to placebo and dirge, if -summoned by the bellman, or pay 2_d._" "All shall go to the mass held for -a dead brother or sister; each brother or sister so dying shall have at -the mass on the day of burial six torches and eighteen wax-lights, and at -other services two torches and four wax-lights." "If any of the gild die -outside Lancaster, within twenty miles, twelve brethren shall wind and -deck the body at the cost of the gild, and if the brother or sister so -dying wished to be buried where he died, the same twelve shall see that he -has fitting burial there where he died." Some of the gilds had a hearse -and embroidered pall which were used at funerals of members of the gild, -and sometimes let out to others. - -[562] A return was made into Chancery, in the twelfth year of Richard II. -(1387), of the original objects, endowments, and extent of gilds -generally, and the masters and wardens; the records of more than 500 exist -and form the substance of Toulmin Smith's book on English gilds. - -[563] Page's "Yorkshire Chantries," p. 83. - -[564] See chap. xxiv. p. 417. - -[565] S.P.C.K., "Worcester Diocese," p. 138. - -[566] From the "Valor Eccl.," iii. 315, we learn that at Thetford, in -Norfolk, there was a Gild of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a certain chapel -in the Bayly end, with a master whose income was L6 13_s._ 4_d._, two -priests with L5 6_s._ 8_d._ each, and two clerks with 20_s._ each. - -From the same source we learn that at Boston, Lincolnshire, there were -three gilds, one of the Blessed Virgin Mary with five chaplains, whose -revenues amounted to L24 a year; one of Corpus Christi with six chaplains, -income L32; and one of St. Peter with two chaplains, income L10 13_s._ -4_d._ - -Alice Lowys, widow of Lowys of Boston, merchant, 1350, leaves bequests to -the High Altar, and to the Gilds of Blessed Mary, St. Katharine, St. -George, etc. ("Early Lincoln Wills," p. 175). - -Isabella Longland, widow, of Henley-upon-Thames, 1527, leaves "to the hye -aulter of Henley Church 20_d._, and hye aulter of our Ladye a diapur cloth -of iij elles and more. To the Fraternity of Jesus in the said church, -4_s._; to the Gilde of our blessed lady of Boston in the dioces of -Lincoln, whereof I am suster, to have masses of _Scala celi_ and _dirge_ -shortly after my departing, 6_s._ 8_d._; to the Brotherhood of St. George -and St. Christopher of York for ditto, 6_s._ 8_d._ To my sone my Lorde of -Lincoln, a standing cup of silver and gilt with a kever, having the image -of St. Mighell, and a droigon in the toppe, and borne with iij aungells in -the foote.... To my prestes for to bere me to the churche ev'y preste, -8_d._ She was the mother of John Longland, Bishop of Lincoln, 1521-1547" -(Ibid., p. 208). - -[567] "Valor Eccl.," iii. 237. - -[568] Page 468. - -[569] Thus Stamford had in All Saints' Church the Gild of All Saints, the -Gild of St. John and St. Julian, the Gild of Corpus Christi, and Philip's -chantry. In St. Mary's Church an endowment for stipendiaries and a -chantry; in St. Stephen's Church a chapter; in St. Clement's Church a -gild. - -[570] Wm. Trenourth of St. Cleer, Cornwall, 1400, leaves to the store of -St. Cleer, three sheep; to the store of St. Mary in St. Cleer Church, two -sheep; to the store of Holy Cross therein, one sheep, and the same to the -store of St. James (Hingeston-Randolph, "Stafford's Register," p. 380). - -[571] W. Haselbeche, clark, 1504, leaves to the Fraternity of St. Peter, -holden within the Church of Littlebury, Essex, his best brass pot and a -dozen of great platters marked with C. - -To the Fraternity of Our Lady's Assumption in the Church of Haddestoo, in -Norfolk, toward the buying and building of a hall for the Fraternity, -26_s._ 8_d._ ("Essex Arch. Trans." (New Series), vol. i. p. 174). - -In an inventory of the goods at Chich St. Osyth Church, 6 Ed. VI., occurs: -"There be the ymplements sometime belonging to the Trinity Gylde. In the -hands of the churchwardens--brasse pott, weighing 3 c. 4 li.; brass pott, -weying 35 li. (much obliterated by decay), ... spitts remaining; dozen of -peuter, waying 31 li. And also in the hands of Sir J. Harwy, church pryst, -one garnyshe of peuter" (Ibid., p. 28). - -[572] This is illustrated in two charming pictures of the end of the -fifteenth century in the Royal MS. 19 cviii. cap., folios 3 and 90, where -the town with its wall, round towers, moat and bridge, and one great -church dominating the houses, rises out of the park-like meadows with a -castle on a neighbouring height. In the lower margin of the late -fourteenth-century MS. (Royal 13 A iii.) the scribe has given a number of -sketches, very neatly executed, of towns mentioned in his narrative. They -are probably for the most part fancy sketches, but they serve to show that -the idea of a town in the mind of a mediaeval draughtsman was a wall and -gates with a grove of towers and spires soaring above. See folios 27, 32, -33, 34, etc., and especially "London," folio 56. An interesting view of a -town with a great church and several smaller towers and spires appearing -over the walls is in Lydgate's "Siege of Thebes," 18 D. 11, folio 148. - -[573] It seems likely that sometimes the same proprietor built more than -one church for his tenants, _e.g._ Abbot Ursin is said to have built three -churches for his burgh of St. Alban (see p. 513). The Abbey of St. Edmund -seems to have built two within a very short period (see p. 511). At -Lincoln, a lay proprietor, Colsuen, shortly after the Conquest, built -thirty-six houses and two churches on a piece of waste ground outside the -city given to him by the king ("Domesday Book"). - -[574] References to the plan of NORWICH. Places within the city indicated -by letters-- - - A. St. Leonard's. - B. Bishop's Gate. - C. The Cathedral Church. - D. St. Martin's at the Pallis Gale. - E. St. Bathold's. - F. St. Clement's. - G. St. Augustine's. - H. St. Martin's at the Oke. - I. The Castle. - K. St. Peter's Permantigate. - L. St. Martin's on the Hill. - M. St. John's on the Hill. - N. St. Michael's. - O. St. John's at the Gate. - P. St. Stephen's. - Q. The Market Place. - R. St. Gyles's Gate. - S. Hell Gate. - T. St. Benet's Gate. - V. St. Stephen's Gate. - W. Pockethorpe Gate. - X. The New Milles. - Y. Chapell in the Field. - Z. St. Martin's Gate. - -[575] "Historic Towns: London." Rev. W. I. Loftie. - -[576] "Stowe's Survey of London," vol. ii. p. 26 (by Strype, A.D. 1720). - -[577] "It may be that the parochial system was not fully organized in -Exeter till the time of the Ordinance (of 1222), and that while some of -the chapels were suppressed, others were now raised to the rank of parish -churches" (E. A. Freeman, "Historic Towns": Exeter). - -[578] References to the Plan of EXETER. Places of the city indicated by -figures-- - - 1. East Gates. - 2. St. Lawrence. - 3. The Castle. - 4. Corrylane. - 5. St. Ione Cross. - 6. St. Stephen's. - 7. Bedford House. - 8. St. Peter's. - 9. Bishop's Pallace. - 10. Palace Gate. - 11. Trinity. - 12. Bear Gate. - 13. St. Marye's. - 14. Churchyard. - 15. St. Petroke's. - 16. High Stret. - 17. Guild Hall. - 18. Alhallowes. - 19. Goldsmith Stret. - 20. St. Paule. - 21. Paule Stret. - 22. St. Pancres. - 23. Waterbury Stret. - 24. North Gate. - 25. Northgate Stret. - 26. St. Keran's. - 27. Cooke Row. - 28. Bell Hill. - 29. Southgate Stret. - 30. South Gate. - 31. Grenny Stret. - 32. St. Gregorie's. - 33. Milk Lane. - 34. The Shambles. - 35. St. Olaves. - 36. St. Mary Arche. - 37. Archer Lane. - 38. St. Nicholas. - 39. St. John's. - 40. Friar Waye. - 41. Little Britaine. - 42. Alhallowes. - 43. St. Marie's Steps. - 44. West Gate. - 45. Smithen Stret. - 46. Idle Lane. - 47. Postern Stret. - 48. Racke Lane. - -[579] Its thirteenth century hall and fourteenth century dormitory still -exist. - -[580] The existing fabric was built early in the second half of the -fifteenth century, at the joint cost of the Abbot of Glastonbury, to whom -the benefice belonged, and of the parishioners; John Shipward, the mayor, -adding the handsome tower. - -[581] On the suppression of the religious houses, the fine church of the -Austin Canons supplied the Cathedral Church of the new diocese of -Bristol--now happily restored to the dignity and usefulness of a separate -see. - -[582] References to the plan of BRISTOL. Places of the city indicated by -letters-- - - A. Great St. Augustine. - B. Little St. Augustine. - C. The Gaunt. - D. St. Michael. - E. St. James. - F. Froom Gate. - G. St. John's. - H. St. Lawrence. - I. St. Stephen's. - K. St. Leonard. - L. St. Warburg's. - M. Christ Church. - N. Allhallowes. - O. St. Mary Port. - P. St. Peter's. - Q. St. Phillip. - R. The Castle. - S. St. Nicholas. - T. St. Thomas. - V. The Temple. - W. Ratcliff Gate. - X. Temple Gate. - Y. Newgate. - -[583] J. Raine, "Historic Towns": York. - -[584] Ellis's "Introd. to Domesday Book," ii. p. 491. - -[585] Ellis's "Introd. to Domesday Book," ii. p. 491. - -[586] A very complete inventory of the possessions of this Priory taken -room by room, at the time of the suppression, is printed in J. -Wodderspoon's "Ipswich," p. 314. - -[587] See an account of this chantry at p. 444. - -[588] There is a diagram of it, with the chapel at the west end, in the -_Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1751, p. 296. - -[589] Vol. iii. p. 147. At p. 145 the sum is given as L23. - -[590] In 1233 the convent obtained a prohibition from the pope to erect an -oratory or chapel within a Roman mile of their altar ("Papal Letters," -vol. i. p. 137, Rolls Series). - -[591] When the Countess of Clare, the lady of one of the manors at -Walsingham, gave the Franciscans a site for a house here, in 21 Henry II., -the prior and convent petitioned her against the foundation, but without -success. - -[592] See Wingham and Wye in Appendix III., pp. 564, 566. - -[593] Ecclia de Roderham divisa est, Pars Abbis de Clervall, L16 13_s._ -4_d._; vicar ejusdem ptis, L5; pars Rogeri cum vicar ejusdem partis, L21 -13_s._ 4_d._; Pens' Prioris de Lewes in eadem eccles de Roderham, L1 6_s._ -8_d._ ("Taxatio," p. 300). - -[594] The example set by the cathedrals for gathering the cantarists into -a college, was followed by private benefactors in several towns, _e.g._ -Newark, p. 525. - -[595] At the time of the "Taxatio," the portion of the prior of Worksop in -the Church of Sheffield was worth L10 ("Taxatio," p. 299). - -[596] The Augmentation Commissioners of Ed. VI. return that the Parish of -Newnham, Gloucestershire, where are houselying people, ciijx, has certain -lands, tenements, and rents given to the parishioners to bestow the -profits according to their discretion, "in reparying the pmisses, sometyme -in mendyng of high weyes and bridgs within the same pshe; and sometymes, -and of late, in findinge a prieste ther to serve for the soles of the -givers and founders, and for cten Xtn works, worth L14 0_s._ 1_d._ -Ornament, plate, and juellry to the same, none, r value x_s._" (Notes on -the Borough and Manor of Newnham.--R. I. Kerr, Gloucester, "Transactions," -1893). - -[597] The castle chapel, dedicated to St. Philip and James, "was anciently -given to the mother church" of Newark. - -[598] A suburb outside the borough, called the North End, had a Hospital -of St. Leonard, and was a separate parish. - -[599] Dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen. - -[600] p. 403. - -[601] It was probable that he was the chaplain of the Castle Chapel. - -[602] An effigy of Alan Fleming, merchant, who died in 1361, engraved, -with canopy and ornamental work, on a great sheet of brass, is one of the -finest of the "Flemish brasses," and one of the treasures of the church. -It is engraved in Waller's and in Boutell's "Monumental Brasses." - -[603] Thoroton records the epitaph of R. Browne, armiger, late Alderman of -the Gild of Holy Trinity of this church, and Constable of the Castle, and -principal seneschal of the liberty of the town and receiver for Thomas -Wolsey, Cardinal of York, and for the Lord John Longland, Bishop of -Lincoln, and for the vice-count of the Counties of Notts and Derby, who -died 1532. - -[604] See p. 519. - -[605] See p. 125. - -[606] Thoroton gives the inscription on the tomb of Robert Kirkclaye, the -first master of the Long School for forty-two years, who died in 1570 (?). - -[607] See an account of them in "Scenes and Characters of the Middle -Ages." Virtue and Co. - -[608] "Valor," v. p. 157. - -[609] Ibid., ii. p. 54. - -[610] Matthew Paris (under 1250 A.D.) relates a case in which Bishop -Grostete deprived a clerk accused of incontinency; the clerk refused to -give up his benefice; the bishop excommunicated him; at the end of forty -days of grace, the clerk still refusing to submit, the bishop sent word to -the sheriff to take and imprison him as contumacious; the sheriff, being a -great friend of the clerk and no friend of the bishop, delayed or refused; -the bishop thereupon excommunicated the sheriff; he complained to the -king; the king applied to the pope, and obtained an order restraining the -bishop (M. Paris, v. 109). - -[611] "Greenfield's Register," quoted in _Church Times_, March 11, 1898. - -[612] "Grostete's Letters," Rolls Series, p. 48. - -[613] S.P.C.K., "Lichfield," p. 178. - -[614] "Durham Ecclesiastical Proceedings," p. 47. - -[615] There is a picture of the confession of clerics in the MS. 6 E. VII. -f. 506 _verso_. - -[616] S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 224. - -[617] Matthew Paris, v. 223. - -[618] S.P.C.K., "Hereford," p. 87. - -[619] "Papal Letters," vol. iii. p. 142, Rolls Series. - -[620] "Gray's Register," York, p. 269. - -[621] S.P.C.K., "Diocesan Histories: Bath and Wells," p. 129. - -[622] Whitaker, "Craven," p. 149. - -[623] S.P.C.K., "Diocesan History of Rochester," p. 189. - -[624] Ibid., p. 231. - -[625] S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 231. - -[626] "Durham Eccl. Proceedings," p. 64. - -[627] "Durham Eccl. Proceedings," Surtees Society, p. 107. - -[628] S.P.C.K., "Rochester," p. 224. - -[629] S.P.C.K., "Diocesan Histories: Bath and Wells," p. 128. We are -reminded of the story told by Sismondi (chap. xlix.), that when Pope Urban -V., in 1369, sent two legates with a bull of excommunication to Bernabo -Visconti, Duke of Milan, that strong-willed prince compelled the legates -to eat the documents, parchment, leaden seals, silk cord, and all. So -Walter de Clifford, in 1250, compelled a royal messenger to eat the -letters he brought, with the seal (Matthew Paris, ii. 324). The writ of -summons was sometimes a small slip of parchment, or perhaps paper, and the -seal a thin layer of beeswax covered with paper, so that the story is not -impossible. There are other instances on record in which the summoner was -compelled by violence to destroy his writ--in what manner is not -stated--instead of serving it ("Calendar of Entries in Papal Registers," -A.D. 1247-48, pp. 239, 243). - -[630] The castigation by the schoolmaster of a scholar hoisted on a man's -back after the hardly obsolete fashion of our public schools is depicted -in the same MS., 6 E. VI., at f. 214, under the heading "_Castigatio_;" -and again in the second volume of the work (6 E. VII.), at f. 444, under -the heading "_Master_;" as if the word "castigatio" naturally suggested -"schoolboy," and the primary function of a "master" were to use the rod. - -[631] "Ecclesiastical Proceedings from the Courts of Durham," p. 20. - -[632] Ibid., p. 21. - -[633] S.P.C.K., "Diocese of Lichfield," p. 171. See other examples in -"Diocesan Histories of Bath and Wells," p. 130. - -[634] There are forms of it in "The York Manual," Rev. J. Raine, Surtees -Society, pp. 86, 119. - -[635] See "The Repression of Overmuch Blaming of the Clergy," by Reginald -Pecock, Bishop of Chichester. Rolls Series. - -[636] The host asks him-- - - "Sire preest, quod he, art thou a vicary, - Or art thou a parson? say soth by thy fay," - -but the poet does not, by answering the question, narrow the class -represented. - -[637] Sparing nor proud. - -[638] Rebuke. - -[639] Scrupulous. - -[640] "Camden Society," p. 23. - -[641] Whitaker's "Whalley," p. 58. - -[642] It appears, by a subsequent document, that he had a domestic oratory -in his Hall, which stood at the east end of the churchyard. - -[643] United by Act of Parliament. c. 1734. - -[644] Morant says that a chantry was founded here in 1328. - -[645] Appropriated to Abbey of Stratford Langthorne. - -[646] The chantry was founded at and for the little town of Billericay, -1-1/2 miles from the parish church. - -[647] The advowson belonged to Bilegh Abbey. Morant says (i. p. 247) West -Leigh was a parish held at the Conquest by the canons of St. Paul's -adjoining this. In 1432 the abbey and the canons agreed to unite the two -parishes, the abbey taking two turns of presentation and the canons one. - -[648] Among the smaller benefices (p. 24); the greater part of their -income having been apportioned to the Religious Houses. - -[649] Built by the family of Barringtone Barnton on their estate here. - -[650] Rectory belonged to Prittlewell Priory. - -[651] "Taxatio," pp. 1, 2. - -[652] "Valor," i. pp 36, 92. - -[653] Elder brother of the Archbishop, Archdeacon of Canterbury, "Valor," -i. p. 32. - -[654] William Warham, nephew of Archbishop Warham, late Archdeacon of -Canterbury, "Valor," i. p. 32. - -[655] In Saxon times the manor belonged to a family named Liveing; soon -after the Conquest it was in the possession of a family named Beke. - -[656] "Revolving in his mind God's wonderful and great mercies to him in -leading him and preferring him to such riches and eminence in Church and -State, and in preserving him from danger both by sea and land, and out of -gratitude to the memory of his parents and friends, at whose charge he was -educated and brought to that pitch of honour, he thought he could not pay -a more grateful acknowledgment than to set apart a very considerable part -of his estate in this manner."--Preface to his Statutes for his College, -Hasted's "Kent," iii. 173. - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_. - -Superscripted characters are indicated by {superscript}. - -The original text contains letters with diacritical marks that are not -represented in this text version. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Parish Priests and Their People in the -Middle Ages in England, by Edward L. 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